The narrative AND Stylistic Mastery of Wong Kar-Wai's
In the Mood for Love
By Daniel Blumensev
To a casual viewer, Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo (1958) and Wong Kar-wai’s In the Mood for Love (2000) have nothing in common, however analyzing the nuances and complexities of Wong’s masterpiece, one realizes the complete opposite. Vertigo, but more so Hitchcock’s suspense style, was the principal creative intent for In the Mood for Love (Bettingson 2009: 173). Linear narrative, the distinct practice in classical Hollywood, refers to a simple storytelling method of presenting a narrative in a logical manner, telling the entire story from point A to point B without any use of flashbacks of flash-forwards. However, Wong Kar-wai, Hong Kong’s master contemporary director, instead of using a linear narrative, decided to fill his film with narrative ambiguity and fragmentation, making In the Mood for Love not as a love story but ‘Like a thriller, like a suspense movie’ (Tirard 2002: 198). More precisely, the unconventional narrative of In the Mood for Love is that it is told not as a melodrama it surfaces to be but instead as a fragmented detective story and its narrative forces audiences to engage with the picture through both, narrative eccentricities and visual style (Bettinson 2009: 173).
In the Mood For Love’s plot is thus forth: in 1962 two strangers Chow Mo-wan (Tony Leung and Su Li-zhen (Maggie Cheung) rent adjacent apartments for them and their spouses in a boarding house in Hong Kong. Mr. Chow and Su Li-Zhen (addressed as Mrs. Chan) establish a neighborly acquaintance but begin to suspect their spouses of having an affair. The two, curious as to how the affair began, begin to modestly ‘enact their spouses’ initial overtures’ (Bettinson 2009: 173). Ironically, the two begin to gradually recognize their own attraction towards each other but decide to not act upon it. Consequently, gossip about Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan starts to spread through the building and Mr. Chow, conscious of his existing feelings for Mrs. Chan decides to take a job in Singapore. Years later Mr. Chow travels to Cambodia, visits the remains of Angkor Wat and whispers a secret into a little hole in the ruins. Although this story sounds like a typical melodrama, it is told through the narrative elements of a detective story.
In the Mood For Love’s plot is thus forth: in 1962 two strangers Chow Mo-wan (Tony Leung and Su Li-zhen (Maggie Cheung) rent adjacent apartments for them and their spouses in a boarding house in Hong Kong. Mr. Chow and Su Li-Zhen (addressed as Mrs. Chan) establish a neighborly acquaintance but begin to suspect their spouses of having an affair. The two, curious as to how the affair began, begin to modestly ‘enact their spouses’ initial overtures’ (Bettinson 2009: 173). Ironically, the two begin to gradually recognize their own attraction towards each other but decide to not act upon it. Consequently, gossip about Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan starts to spread through the building and Mr. Chow, conscious of his existing feelings for Mrs. Chan decides to take a job in Singapore. Years later Mr. Chow travels to Cambodia, visits the remains of Angkor Wat and whispers a secret into a little hole in the ruins. Although this story sounds like a typical melodrama, it is told through the narrative elements of a detective story.
In the first twenty-six minutes of the film there is no narrative beginning, nothing that starts the story. However, it is only in the twenty-seventh minute that the characters learn and reveal to the audiences that they suspect their spouses of infidelity. The unconventional narrative of In the Mood for Love is not only first evident with the fact that the audiences only are informed of a some-what story after an entire twenty-six minutes of the film but also that, learning of the protagonists’ spouses affair, we never see the spouses in the entire picture, only their backs a few times. According to Gary Bettinson ‘A melodrama will construct knowledge hierarchies which bestow epistemic authority upon the spectator’ (Bettinson 2009: 174). What this means is that in melodramas narration is presented clearly and omnisciently and it even gives audiences more information that the characters have, making it possible for the audiences to appreciate the melodrama’s action and dramatic irony (Bettinson 2009: 175). However, in Wong’s film, as one observes, story information is only revealed after twenty-six minutes into the film and furthermore, not only do the audiences learn information for the first time but the characters do as well of their spouses affair, thus one understands that In the Mood for Love’s knowledge privileges are bestowed neither on the audiences nor on characters. This technique results in ‘the spectator and the protagonist…occupy[ing] the same strata in the hierarchy of knowledge’, a narrative technique prevalent in detective narratives, a narrative of which In the Mood for Love clearly possesses (Bettinson 2009: 176). The film’s method of not showing the spouses ultimately removes any form of melodramatic conflict from the narrative and leaves the spouses to simply be the motivation towards the activity of the main characters. The activity of Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan is in fact, that of detectives.
The film’s mode of storytelling is that of a detective story: ‘depicting the protagonists’ investigation into a concealed infidelity’ (Bettinson 2009: 174). When realizing that their spouses are cheating on them ‘[The protagonists]….start to investigate, to try to understand how things happened’ (Tirard 2002: 198). This investigation, clearly noticeable during the film’s short scenes is present in the form of role playing, with Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan reenacting the overtures of their spouses (Teo 2005: 121). This innocent restaging of the cheating spouses’ overtures represents a cliché of the detective genre of ‘retracing the criminal’s movements, or reenacting the crime’ (Bettinson 2009: 174). With this reference in mind, ‘The spouses’ affair is attributed all the moral worth of a crime’ (Bettinson 2009: 174).
Apart from the characters’ actions, the film’s true narrative being that of the detective genre is supported by the film’s iconography. In the Mood for Love particularly contains implicit iconography of the noir film, being a Hollywood detective crime thriller of the 1940s working exclusively with shadows and black and white. The film’s mise-en-scène is concealed with noir elements such as unanswered ringing telephones and doorbells, cigarettes excessively smoked, marking the protagonists’ unease, and an everlasting rainfall drowns the nighttime streets of Hong Kong (Bettinson 2009: 175).
Apart from the characters’ actions, the film’s true narrative being that of the detective genre is supported by the film’s iconography. In the Mood for Love particularly contains implicit iconography of the noir film, being a Hollywood detective crime thriller of the 1940s working exclusively with shadows and black and white. The film’s mise-en-scène is concealed with noir elements such as unanswered ringing telephones and doorbells, cigarettes excessively smoked, marking the protagonists’ unease, and an everlasting rainfall drowns the nighttime streets of Hong Kong (Bettinson 2009: 175).
A strong connection of In the Mood for Love’s narrative to that of the detective genre is the action of Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan, by imitating the crime of their spouses, ultimately also, like their spouses, become attracted with each other, resulting in the classic blurring of morality of the detective genre in which ‘The detective’s moral identity threatens to be absorbed by the criminal’s’ (Bettinson 2015: 118). This detective genre narrative element is amplified by the film’s visual style, particularly the film’s unique framing technique. In the Mood for Love contains frames within frames, meaning that the protagonists are physically framed by doorways, windows, mirrors esc. This visual style enhances the film’s narrative message of the subconscious and then conscious guilt felt by Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan when realizing that they are becoming attracted to each other like their spouses, as being constantly in a frame within a frame encloses and traps the protagonists, being unable to get away from their very own ‘crime’. A great example of this visual style to reflect the film’s message is the bars framing during Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan’s decision to not act upon their desire for each other. The two protagonists walk and talk in a back alley of a street and the frame is barred with a gate in the foreground. Instead of being a simple gate, the barred nature of the gate represents the imprisonment of the two characters, reflecting their guilt of possibly becoming like their spouses and the director’s own moral stance on this issue, being a wrongful doing, represented by his inclusion of prison like bars, trapping the characters within them. The greatest and most profound example of In the Mood for Love’s visual style to reflect the film’s narrative happens at around 33 minutes into the picture. Here we have a scene of Mrs. Suen, the boarding house’s landlady, coming through the hallway to give a letter to Mrs. Chan. Mrs. Suen says: ‘Mrs. Chan, a letter from your husband’. Mrs. Chan looks at the letter and replies: ‘It’s not for me. It’s for Mr. Chow next door’. Straight away, narratively this dialogue creates the verbal irony of Mr. Chow becoming Mrs. Chan’s husband, reflecting their very own ‘illegal’ attraction towards each other. However not only does the film create sub-textual meaning through its narrative but visually as well. An attentive eye would notice that Mrs. Chan and Mrs. Suen are framed not once, not twice but three times. First, the two characters are framed by the film’s frame itself, then by the doorway into the kitchen and then more obscurely, tightly framed by an out of focus rectangle, a part of the apartment’s gate perhaps. These frames, particularly the doorway and gate frames, tightly trap Mrs. Chan with her immoral adulterous tendencies. (See Below)
The film’s narrative is linked to its visual style even further as after realizing that they are falling for the crime of the ‘criminals’ or their spouses, Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan suddenly almost become physical statues for the audiences’ observation and judgment of them. There are two distinct instances when the film’s visual narrative presents this kind of double meaning. The first occurs in the middle of the picture with a shot of both protagonists in close-up and in the foreground, motionless (for a few seconds) as if statues (See Below).
The first effect of this shot is that it enhances the film’s narrative specifically by the composition of the shot. The clever blocking of the large size of the two characters’ heads in the frame makes it easier for the audiences to comprehend the characters’ internal state: what their feelings towards each other have come to, at this space in time. This comprehension is made easier due to the stillness of both characters for the first couple of seconds of this shot, making them be statues of audience observation. However, besides from the visual composition of this shot, the narrative is also pushed forward largely due to the brevity of this scene.
In the Mood for Love is a film that is fragmented and episodic, consisting of a collection of very short scenes. These short but concise scenes are present to isolate crucial information for the audiences to understand these scenes’ meanings, ultimately understanding the film’s overall meanings. The tightly framed shot of Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan is not only one shot from a scene consisting of many shots but this one shot is the entire scene itself. The distinct effect of having constructed In the Mood for Love in very short scenes, some consisting of only one shot, like this one, is as follows. If this scene started with this same close up shot but then cut to another shot of outside the apartment’s door looking into the apartment as Mrs. Chan leaves, the audiences would have just as easily understood this scene’s meaning of Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan’s relationship not taking a hold as in the one shot itself. However in the one single shot (of which this entire short scene is constructed of) we understand this same message but faster and in fewer shots. We see both characters’ faces in close-up, Mrs. Chan’s being in focus and Mr. Chow’s not, then Mrs. Chan turns her back to the camera and moves into the background, leaving, and a shift in focus to Mr. Chow occurs. Not only do we get the same message of the protagonists’ relationship not taking a hold in this one shot instead of the two shots, making the message even more striking and powerful as it is expressed so simply through blocking, like a play but in the one shot we even get more information than we would have gotten in two shots. The shift in focus symbolically furthers the narrative message of Mrs. Chan leaving from the possible love bond of Mr. Chow as she is out of focus, thus excluding herself from the immoral situation. Mr. Chow, being the only one in focus, is now isolated and left alone from Mrs. Chan reflecting the message of breaking away from each other and we are shown his feelings of subtle disappointment, being a watershed of meaning in just one shot, enhancing the film’s immense power of reflecting narrative through visual style.
Coming back to the way in which In the Mood for Love’s narrative is constructed as a detective film, one recognizes this technique largely due to the narrative’s way of engaging its audiences with it, making the film’s viewers, detectives.
The first way in which the audiences engage with the narrative is by wanting to find out what this film is about. Specifically this refers to the beginning of the picture in which, for the first twenty-six minutes, the audiences has no idea of what In the Mood for Love’s story is. However, the reason why considerate audiences would not walk out of the theater during the first twenty-six minutes of this picture and want to, indeed, figure out what is going on in this film’s narrative is because, starting already from the first frame, Wong’s picture is not only beautifully shot with rich colors and extravagant and intricate set design, but also because, starting the film with a pan across strangers in picture frames hanging on the wall and then revealing not a welcoming face but instead the back of a lady’s head (See Below), being an unapproachable character, makes not only the audiences but also the film itself figure out its own narrative mystery.
In the Mood for Love is a film that is fragmented and episodic, consisting of a collection of very short scenes. These short but concise scenes are present to isolate crucial information for the audiences to understand these scenes’ meanings, ultimately understanding the film’s overall meanings. The tightly framed shot of Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan is not only one shot from a scene consisting of many shots but this one shot is the entire scene itself. The distinct effect of having constructed In the Mood for Love in very short scenes, some consisting of only one shot, like this one, is as follows. If this scene started with this same close up shot but then cut to another shot of outside the apartment’s door looking into the apartment as Mrs. Chan leaves, the audiences would have just as easily understood this scene’s meaning of Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan’s relationship not taking a hold as in the one shot itself. However in the one single shot (of which this entire short scene is constructed of) we understand this same message but faster and in fewer shots. We see both characters’ faces in close-up, Mrs. Chan’s being in focus and Mr. Chow’s not, then Mrs. Chan turns her back to the camera and moves into the background, leaving, and a shift in focus to Mr. Chow occurs. Not only do we get the same message of the protagonists’ relationship not taking a hold in this one shot instead of the two shots, making the message even more striking and powerful as it is expressed so simply through blocking, like a play but in the one shot we even get more information than we would have gotten in two shots. The shift in focus symbolically furthers the narrative message of Mrs. Chan leaving from the possible love bond of Mr. Chow as she is out of focus, thus excluding herself from the immoral situation. Mr. Chow, being the only one in focus, is now isolated and left alone from Mrs. Chan reflecting the message of breaking away from each other and we are shown his feelings of subtle disappointment, being a watershed of meaning in just one shot, enhancing the film’s immense power of reflecting narrative through visual style.
Coming back to the way in which In the Mood for Love’s narrative is constructed as a detective film, one recognizes this technique largely due to the narrative’s way of engaging its audiences with it, making the film’s viewers, detectives.
The first way in which the audiences engage with the narrative is by wanting to find out what this film is about. Specifically this refers to the beginning of the picture in which, for the first twenty-six minutes, the audiences has no idea of what In the Mood for Love’s story is. However, the reason why considerate audiences would not walk out of the theater during the first twenty-six minutes of this picture and want to, indeed, figure out what is going on in this film’s narrative is because, starting already from the first frame, Wong’s picture is not only beautifully shot with rich colors and extravagant and intricate set design, but also because, starting the film with a pan across strangers in picture frames hanging on the wall and then revealing not a welcoming face but instead the back of a lady’s head (See Below), being an unapproachable character, makes not only the audiences but also the film itself figure out its own narrative mystery.
After Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan realize and ultimately reveal to the audiences their suspicions of their spouses’ affair, starting off the film’s story for the viewers, the audiences now having this revelation in mind, and they start to become detectives themselves, recalling the film’s past scenes ‘who’s proper context the narration has [cleverly] suppressed’ (Bettinson 2009: 176). With this narrative revelation, audiences start to inevitably engage with the film’s now existing narrative, investigating the film’s previous scenes for some hint of the spouses’ infidelity, with the spouses no longer being silhouettes, but ultimately the spouses now become the center of the story interest. For example, audiences are now ultimately forced to assign a dual motive to a previous conversation between Mrs. Chan and Mr. Chow’s wife, no longer perceiving the conversation as a friendly neighborly one, but as a phase in an investigation (Bettinson 2009: 176). The element of including detective iconography in In the Mood for Love’s mise-en-scène such as ringing telephones and smoking cigarettes, the audiences are also pushed to engage with the film’s narrative in another way, by wanting to find more of this obscure iconography, ultimately interacting with the film as though solving a puzzle.
Apart from In the Mood for Love’s narrative retrospective nature constructed to make the film play as a detective picture with the audiences being the detectives, in order to further the detective style of the film’s narrative, repressiveness and ambiguity was incorporated into it. As mentioned before, a detective narrative’s knowledge authority lies, neither on the protagonist nor on the audiences making both know the same as each other. However, an extreme example of the knowledge hierarchy is when, completely contrary to the melodrama, the audiences knows even less than the protagonist, this being the case in multiple scenes in In the Mood for Love. The detective narrative is one of repressiveness, making story events ambiguous (Bettinson 2009: 176). In In the Mood for Love this ambiguity is particularly evident during the scenes in which Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan play-act their own spouses. Even when knowing that they are play-acting, the narrative still gets difficult to follow as you sometimes are not sure of the true reason behind their imitations. Is it in their eccentric way of flirting with each other, or are they doing it out of being envious of their spouses, wanting to do something as exciting as cheating, themselves. However, when the audience does not understand that the two are imitating their spouses, the audiences understanding of true meaning becomes extremely ambiguous, like the detective narrative.
Besides In the Mood for Love’s narrative omissions and subtle implementations in order to shift the film’s melodramatic surface to that of a detective film, Wong’s film also uses other narrative techniques to convey a message. That message, being the quintessential resolution of the picture, is that, Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan choose, quoting Peter Brunette: ‘…An ambivalent solace in the deliciousness of lovelorn suffering and melancholia’ by choosing not to act on their desires and staying apart (Brunette 2005: 89). This message is expressed perfectly through the film’s music and through its visual aspect of mise-en-scène. Towards the end of the film, Mr. Chow asks Mrs. Chan a hypothetical question: ‘If there’s an extra ticket, would you go with me?’. Mrs. Chan does not answer, but instead Nat King Cole starts singing on the soundtrack signing: ‘Quizas, Quizas, Quizas.’ The ambiguity of this lyric perfectly represents the ‘undefined relationship between the protagonists, and successfully sustains the suspense that the scene aims to evoke’ (Bettinson 2009: 183). This particular short scene perfectly demonstrates Wong Kar-Wai’s intent for the film scenes: ‘…I structured this film with very short scenes and an attempt to create constant tension’ (Tirard 2002: 198). The other way in which Wong reflects his message of the protagonists’ decision to ‘not be like them’, to not ‘become like the criminals’, ultimately choosing to stay away from each other’s desires, is through the visual aspect of the mise-en-scène of costume. Mrs. Chan wears more than twenty Cheongsams (dresses) throughout the picture (See Below). These dresses are vibrant with floral motifs, an absolute treat for the eye. However, the colorful Cheongsams are ‘form-fitting and tightly wound [around Mrs. Chan], even around her neck’, thus being both highly sexual and highly repressed, representing Mrs. Chan’s own repressed sexual feelings towards Mr. Chow. Furthermore, the vibrant floral patterns on Mrs. Chan’s dresses represent a passionate life that can only be ‘visually and thus symbolically represented and thus not actually lived’ (Brunette 2005: 91).
Apart from In the Mood for Love’s narrative retrospective nature constructed to make the film play as a detective picture with the audiences being the detectives, in order to further the detective style of the film’s narrative, repressiveness and ambiguity was incorporated into it. As mentioned before, a detective narrative’s knowledge authority lies, neither on the protagonist nor on the audiences making both know the same as each other. However, an extreme example of the knowledge hierarchy is when, completely contrary to the melodrama, the audiences knows even less than the protagonist, this being the case in multiple scenes in In the Mood for Love. The detective narrative is one of repressiveness, making story events ambiguous (Bettinson 2009: 176). In In the Mood for Love this ambiguity is particularly evident during the scenes in which Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan play-act their own spouses. Even when knowing that they are play-acting, the narrative still gets difficult to follow as you sometimes are not sure of the true reason behind their imitations. Is it in their eccentric way of flirting with each other, or are they doing it out of being envious of their spouses, wanting to do something as exciting as cheating, themselves. However, when the audience does not understand that the two are imitating their spouses, the audiences understanding of true meaning becomes extremely ambiguous, like the detective narrative.
Besides In the Mood for Love’s narrative omissions and subtle implementations in order to shift the film’s melodramatic surface to that of a detective film, Wong’s film also uses other narrative techniques to convey a message. That message, being the quintessential resolution of the picture, is that, Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan choose, quoting Peter Brunette: ‘…An ambivalent solace in the deliciousness of lovelorn suffering and melancholia’ by choosing not to act on their desires and staying apart (Brunette 2005: 89). This message is expressed perfectly through the film’s music and through its visual aspect of mise-en-scène. Towards the end of the film, Mr. Chow asks Mrs. Chan a hypothetical question: ‘If there’s an extra ticket, would you go with me?’. Mrs. Chan does not answer, but instead Nat King Cole starts singing on the soundtrack signing: ‘Quizas, Quizas, Quizas.’ The ambiguity of this lyric perfectly represents the ‘undefined relationship between the protagonists, and successfully sustains the suspense that the scene aims to evoke’ (Bettinson 2009: 183). This particular short scene perfectly demonstrates Wong Kar-Wai’s intent for the film scenes: ‘…I structured this film with very short scenes and an attempt to create constant tension’ (Tirard 2002: 198). The other way in which Wong reflects his message of the protagonists’ decision to ‘not be like them’, to not ‘become like the criminals’, ultimately choosing to stay away from each other’s desires, is through the visual aspect of the mise-en-scène of costume. Mrs. Chan wears more than twenty Cheongsams (dresses) throughout the picture (See Below). These dresses are vibrant with floral motifs, an absolute treat for the eye. However, the colorful Cheongsams are ‘form-fitting and tightly wound [around Mrs. Chan], even around her neck’, thus being both highly sexual and highly repressed, representing Mrs. Chan’s own repressed sexual feelings towards Mr. Chow. Furthermore, the vibrant floral patterns on Mrs. Chan’s dresses represent a passionate life that can only be ‘visually and thus symbolically represented and thus not actually lived’ (Brunette 2005: 91).
The element of manipulating time dominates the narrative style of In the Mood for Love. Wong Kar-wai cuts his film by having each scene happen an unknown time later than the previous. Watching the film, one can never tell how much time has really passes between these short scenes, calling for constant engagement with the picture once again. One reason for this time skipping narrative technique is the idea of recalling this ‘story’ in ones memory. The jumps in time reflect the isolation of crucial moments from the past in ones memory, being these particular short scenes of which the film is made up of, being ‘crucial’ memories in the way that each short scene contains some important fact or message within. The jump in time narrative also refers to how fragmented and unstable the relationship between the two protagonists is, literally expressing fragmentation through cutting through time. Interestingly enough, Wong Kar-wai did not have a concrete script when he started shooting this picture, but only some scenes written down and planned out. Ultimately, it was during the shooting that Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung came up with ideas of scenes, along with the director (Nerdwriter1). However, even due to this, the finished film feels incredibly concise and well thought-out throughout, showing that the inspiration that the actors felt along with Wong Kar-wai on the set influenced them and the director to a large extent to come up with and write in scenes that turned out to work perfectly in the finished film.
The final way of looking at the time manipulating narrative style of In the Mood for Love is the way in which the film actually extends and pauses time. Throughout Wong Kar-wai’s film, the picture keeps returning strictly to the same locations, such as the boarding house most of all, then the protagonists’ back alley ‘barred’ place of meeting and Mr. Chow’s office. The technique of constantly returning to these same locations for most of the film makes not the protagonists’ world pass quickly (due to the short scenes and cutting through time) but instead, the world around them. More specifically, the audiences forget about the passing of the outside world and is constricted and held within the still and suspended world of Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan, reflecting their dreamy pleasure with each other, which ultimately does not last, however (Nerdwriter1).
The most profound motion pictures are those that transcend genre conventions. Singin’ in the Rain (1953 Gene Kelly, Stanley Donen), Nashville (1975 Robert Altman) and Pulp Fiction (1994 Quentin Tarantino) are all masterpieces that broke the boundaries of their supposed genres. In 2000 In the Mood for Love made the list. Wong Kar-wai’s masterpiece has an extremely unconventional narrative of telling a melodramatic story of two victims of adulterous spouses, in a fragmented short scene-filled detective style. Due to this detective style, Wong’s film makes use of the profound techniques of knowledge hierarchies, making audiences confused and wanting to find out more about the narrative, thus ultimately engaging with it, detective iconography, and the character’s actions representing those of a detective film, which all enrich this film’s complex narrative. The messages of the narrative are also enriched through the film’s visual style of cinematography, framing and blocking, as well as through the film’s use of music, mise-en-scène and powerful manipulation of time, making Wong Kar-wai’s In the Mood for Love one of the new greatest genre transcending films.
The final way of looking at the time manipulating narrative style of In the Mood for Love is the way in which the film actually extends and pauses time. Throughout Wong Kar-wai’s film, the picture keeps returning strictly to the same locations, such as the boarding house most of all, then the protagonists’ back alley ‘barred’ place of meeting and Mr. Chow’s office. The technique of constantly returning to these same locations for most of the film makes not the protagonists’ world pass quickly (due to the short scenes and cutting through time) but instead, the world around them. More specifically, the audiences forget about the passing of the outside world and is constricted and held within the still and suspended world of Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan, reflecting their dreamy pleasure with each other, which ultimately does not last, however (Nerdwriter1).
The most profound motion pictures are those that transcend genre conventions. Singin’ in the Rain (1953 Gene Kelly, Stanley Donen), Nashville (1975 Robert Altman) and Pulp Fiction (1994 Quentin Tarantino) are all masterpieces that broke the boundaries of their supposed genres. In 2000 In the Mood for Love made the list. Wong Kar-wai’s masterpiece has an extremely unconventional narrative of telling a melodramatic story of two victims of adulterous spouses, in a fragmented short scene-filled detective style. Due to this detective style, Wong’s film makes use of the profound techniques of knowledge hierarchies, making audiences confused and wanting to find out more about the narrative, thus ultimately engaging with it, detective iconography, and the character’s actions representing those of a detective film, which all enrich this film’s complex narrative. The messages of the narrative are also enriched through the film’s visual style of cinematography, framing and blocking, as well as through the film’s use of music, mise-en-scène and powerful manipulation of time, making Wong Kar-wai’s In the Mood for Love one of the new greatest genre transcending films.
Bibliography
Brunette, P. (2005). Wong Kar-wai. Chicago: Univerity of Illinois Press.
Bettinson, G (2009) ‘Happy Together? Generic Hybridity in 2046 and In the Mood for Love’ in Buckland, W. (eds) Puzzle Films. U.K.: Wiley-Blackwell. 167- 186
Bettinson, G. (2015). The Sensuous Cinema of Wong Kar-wai. 1st ed. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.
Teo, S. (2005). Wong Kar-Wai. 1st ed. London: BFI Pub.
Tirard, L. (2002). Moviemakers’ Mater Class: Private Lessons from the World’s Foremost Directors. New York: Faber and Faber.
Nerdwriter1 (2015) ‘In The Mood For Love: Frames Within Frames’ from Nerdwriter1, 2011. On-line. Available HTTP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01E5otZCpqw (8 Jan 2017).
Bettinson, G (2009) ‘Happy Together? Generic Hybridity in 2046 and In the Mood for Love’ in Buckland, W. (eds) Puzzle Films. U.K.: Wiley-Blackwell. 167- 186
Bettinson, G. (2015). The Sensuous Cinema of Wong Kar-wai. 1st ed. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.
Teo, S. (2005). Wong Kar-Wai. 1st ed. London: BFI Pub.
Tirard, L. (2002). Moviemakers’ Mater Class: Private Lessons from the World’s Foremost Directors. New York: Faber and Faber.
Nerdwriter1 (2015) ‘In The Mood For Love: Frames Within Frames’ from Nerdwriter1, 2011. On-line. Available HTTP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01E5otZCpqw (8 Jan 2017).
Filmography
In the Mood for Love (2000) Directed by Wong Kar-wai [Film]. Block 2 Pictures.
Nashville (1975) Directed by Robert Altman [Film]. USA: ABC Entertainment.
Pulp Fiction (1994) Directed by Quentin Tarantino [Film]. USA: Miramax.
Singin’ in the Rain (1953) Directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen [Film]. USA: MGM.
Vertigo (1958) Directed by Alfred Hitchcock [Film]. USA: Alfred J. Hitchcock Productions.
Nashville (1975) Directed by Robert Altman [Film]. USA: ABC Entertainment.
Pulp Fiction (1994) Directed by Quentin Tarantino [Film]. USA: Miramax.
Singin’ in the Rain (1953) Directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen [Film]. USA: MGM.
Vertigo (1958) Directed by Alfred Hitchcock [Film]. USA: Alfred J. Hitchcock Productions.