Wong Kar Wai Tells All
By Cole Smithey
“That era has passed. Nothing that belonged to it exists anymore.”
Wong Kar Wai’s masterpiece of romantic longing, emotional expression, unrequited love, and unresolved jealousy, is a cinematic poem that stretches across time and Asian social barriers.
The film’s indisputable beauty radiates with a burning glow that emanates from its charismatic lead actors, Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung.
Set in Hong Kong, circa 1962, shared experience of wounded romantic repression plays out between neighbors whose spouses are sharing an affair.
The Korean War rages distant to our would-be lovers. Love is always an escape from loneliness.
A mutual decision to play out an imagined version of their spouse’s affair, gives way to a simmering erotic tension barely masked by gesture, habit, and style.
Formality, dignity, and respect are unwritten rules of the couple’s sexless romantic game of curiosity.
Every atmosphere is furtive.
Secrets are kept.
Erotically tinged gemstone colors explode in carefully crafted set designs and wardrobe elements that bleed off smoke from the burning chemistry between Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung.
Hollywood should be jealous, very jealous.
By this standard, Hollywood knows nothing of nuance.
The early ’60s
political and economic atmosphere of Hong Kong informs the way that Wong Kar Wai’s iconic couple interact.
Public appearances are kept up.
Erotic sparks can ignite from a spoonful of mustard shared at a restaurant table.
Lust is secondary, but just barely.
The intimate negotiation that transpires between our star-crossed lovers takes place in an aura of negative space where things such as wallpaper designs and dress patterns set boundaries of sexual restraint.
There is a BDSM undertow to the couple’s interactions. Theirs is a private code told in silences, and muted responses that no lie detector could catch.
Although the film’s ending feels rushed, it speaks to the audience as a cauterizing effort at mirroring the disjointed fragmentation of quickly passing time and far lost promise.
Memories are lasting, especially when the romantic stakes are so deep.
The film’s impeccable soundtrack places the characters in an era of Big Band music whose standards fueled a utopic atmosphere of charm, class, and romantic connection.
You’ll be humming Nat King Cole’s version of “
“In The Mood For Love” was an instant classic when it premiered at Cannes in 2000. It remains Wong Kar Wai’s finest cinematic achievement.
In the words of Lou Reed, “you’re over the hill, right now.”
Relax, the romantic pressure is over.
Memories are all that’s left in a lover’s memory box.
Tear up the letters; they don’t prove anything.
Keep your secrets.
Rated PG. 98 mins.
