Exquisite.
It’s rare that a movie so often touted as beautiful lives up to its reputation. I am so late to this party, but I am absolutely, unabashedly on board: director Wong Kar-wai‘s In the Mood for Love is deeply, stunningly beautiful.
Understated storytelling, gorgeous costumes, hypnotic yet stark lighting, engaging photography, and its two devastatingly beautiful leads, Maggie Cheung and Tony Chiu-Wai Leung. On all levels, the film is original yet familiar, romantic yet honest, richly textured yet austere, and somehow differently, at every turn, sumptuous.
Being late, however, means there is a treasure trove of material from and about this movie (not least of which is the director’s follow-up feature, 2046 (2004), which features ideas and material that didn’t make it into this film).
The Director
Wong Kar-wai at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival talking about ‘In the Mood for Love’ and how he wanted to portray a relationship on screen (via Lost In Film):
Wong Kar-wai at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival talking about 'In the Mood for Love' and how he wanted to portray a relationship on screen. pic.twitter.com/lQrCjBc8sj
— Lost In Film (@LostInFilm) May 20, 2026
Martin Scorsese and Wong Kar-wai Interview (via Deadline):
The Actors
Maggie Cheung on Wong Kar-wai’s directing style (clipped from the full press conference at TIFF 2000):
Good lord, these two – ‘In the Mood for Dancing’ (via Criterion):
The Costume Design
“The dress is not just a dress. It’s Maggie’s character’s mood. It’s as if she’s wearing this mood that day,” Wong Kar-Wai explains in this catalogue of the 21 outfits worn throughout the movie (more on the dresses, referred to as the ‘qipao’ or ‘cheongsam’, here):
“Different dresses helped let us see the time passing in the film,” Maggie Cheung elaborates (via TIFF):
The Film-Making
Wong Kar-Wai describes In the Mood for Love as “a story about two people, and it could easily have been very boring. But instead of treating it as a love story, I decided to approach it like a thriller, like a suspense movie. These two people start out as victims, and then they start to investigate, to try to understand how things happened. This is the way I structured this film, with very short scenes and an attempt to create constant tension. That’s probably what made it so surprising to the audience, which was expecting a classic love story.” (“Moviemakers’ Masterclass”, Laurent Tirard, 2002, via Depressed Bergman)
For such a delicate, dreamy-feeling film, the photography is surprisingly crisp and high-contrast. In Depth Cine examines the tools and craft of In the Mood for Love cinematographer and regular Wong Kar-Wai collaborator, Christopher Doyle:
The Outtakes
Apparently, a love scene was filmed and then (wisely) cut:
“If it’s not the best for the film, what’s the point?” Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung discuss having takes they loved cut (via TIFF):
Behind The Scenes
Film stills and polaroids from the set of In The Mood For Love:
Further Viewing
‘In The Mood For Love: Frames Within Frames’ by Nerdwriter:
As part of their series on the topic, Screened asks, “What’s the Point of a Doomed Romance?”:
Glass Distortion‘s supercut is a loving tribute to Wong Kar Wai: Color Obsesssion (via Nowness):
Why In the Mood for Love Pushed Wong Kar Wai to the Edge (via Just One More Thing):
I have been asked what movie one could possibly watch after this which might even come close, in either its romance or beauty. Well: