Reviews

a wonderful take on the trials of friendship. i was most taken by the character of Tae-hee. there is one scene where she is imagining herself floating in a boat, down a stream. all she wants to do is sit back, look up at the sky, and read. she wants to let everything go, and drift away from the mainstream. this scene was immediately relatable to me, almost cathartic. the director doesn't sentimentalize the very real emotions these young women are feeling. the music is quite good, and the performances are perfect.

This is a wonderful film. The two leads are extraordinary. They express so much emotion with a slight movement in their eyes. It's about two lonely people. Their friendship seems to fill an unspoken void in their lives. The director is able to show so much emotion by merely showing the audience the little things, instead of exploding the screen with mawkishness. Every time I see this film, I find something else to savor in it.

another beautiful film by won kar-wai. kar-wai seems to be playing with the camera here a little more than "in the mood for love." tony leung turns in another excellent performance. that recurring, synthesizer music in the first half of the film is terrific. i love the way faye's and leung's character's talk to inanimate objects. the personalities of the objects seem to be what leung and faye find missing form their "real" world. faye's rearranging of leung's apartment seems to be a way for her to help him look at life a little differently. and leung's place allows her a place for her to indulge her whims and fantasies, a place out of time. one wonders whether she is able to feel so free in her own home. wong kar-wai has this way of making me want to step inside his worlds, to meet his exquisite characters he creates. every frame looks like a painting. and he doesn't feel the need to explain the randomness of the world he creates. it's like one's random thoughts, one's stream of consciousness. the stories in the film aren't formally connected, but does it matter. the feelings they convey are similar. i remember when i was younger, wneh i was lonely i would wonder what it would be like to meet orson welles. now, i wonder what it would be like to meet wong kar-wai.

I saw the film in the theater when it first came out. Now, I am viewing it once again on video. Unfortunately, I haven't gotten around to reading any Proust yet. But the film is beautiful. There is one scene in particular at a party I was quite taken by. Marcel is in this very crowded room,, where he seems to know everyone. yet, he seems to feel alone, detached form all the ridiculous social coteries and gossip. he finds comfort in his memories. the sound or smell or sight of something, instantly sends him back in time. he remembers an inconsequential moment. a moment in time when things were better, more bearable. or were they? did we really use our memories as a false comforting, a way to remember one's past as a better time, wishing things could be like that again. i loved the way raoul ruiz filmed it. the camera seems at moments to be floating in the air. at times, it seems the ground where the actors are situated is moving, rather than the camera itself. the acting is wonderful. and the music is eerily touching. a surreally satisfying film.

This is the closest I ever came to crying in a movie, and I don't consider myself a romantic or sentimental individual. Maggie Cheung is gorgeous. Cheung's and Tony Leung's acting is mesmerizing. It's amazing how much they can convey with simple expressions and body language. The direction is also terrific. Every shot is like a painting. The music, especially those repeated pieces by Michael Galsso heightens the emotional tension. While the some of the film may seem somewhat sad at times, I felt as if I wanted to meet these characters, to step inside the film and soak up the feel of 1960's Hong Kong. This is because of Wong Kar-Wai's direction. 'In the mood for love' is a film I will be drawn to come back to from time to time.