Some films are poetic. It is hard to decipher them as regular viewing is required to fathom their beauty. ‘In the Mood for Love’ is one of those films. The more I watch it, the more meanings I decode and the depth I comprehend.

Directed by Wong Kar-wai, the movie is a delicate dance of unspoken emotions and a meditation on love and longing. The story centres around two neighbours, Chow (Tony Leung) and Chan (Maggie Cheung), who move into adjacent apartments on the same day.

Set in 1960s Hong Kong, the tightly packed, dimly lit apartments mirror the country’s crowded living conditions. Both characters are married, but as their respective spouses often travel, they find themselves alone. Slowly, they begin to form a bond. The reason their bond blossoms is quite bizarre. They suspect that their spouses are having an affair with each other.

What follows is an exploration of their emotional connection. The shared pain of betrayal and infidelity binds them together. Although they come closer, they feel constrained by societal expectations and personal moral codes. This portrays society’s viewing of extramarital affairs.

Chow and Chan rehearse hypothetical confrontations with their cheating spouses, share dinners, and confide in each other. Still, they never allow their relationship to move beyond emotional intimacy. They are constantly on the edge of crossing the line but choose not to out of respect for their spouses.

The plot is simple but layered with nuance. It is not a traditional love story with clear resolution or grand declarations. Instead, ‘In The Mood for Love’ explores what happens when love exists in the margins—when it remains unspoken, unconsummated, and never fully realised. The focus is not on a passionate affair but the aching restraint between two people who yearn for more but hold themselves back.

Most of the scenes are within a frame. Spectators view the characters and their interactions through the frames of windows and doors. The director enhances the characters’ feeling of being observed by placing objects in the foreground. The film also doesn't show the entirety of the characters' bedrooms. But when we see the rooms, it's either through a door or a window. This detail reflects the small and crowded nature of the rooms.

Undoubtedly, ‘In The Mood for Love’ is a visual masterpiece. The film is drenched in yellow, red, and green colours, which alleviates the emotions portrayed and the feeling of melancholy. The frequent use of shadows, narrow hallways, and doorframes gives a sense of confinement, reflecting the emotional entrapment of the characters. They never share a kiss on screen, which makes their longing even more poignant. Every glance, every brush of the hand, every subtle gesture conveys a world of emotion. The power of their performances lies in what they don’t say and how they express their emotions through these subtle gestures and expressions.

One of the film's most striking aspects is its use of slow motion. Kar-wai lingers on small, seemingly insignificant moments—the swaying of a dress, the lighting of a cigarette, the clink of a spoon in a teacup. These slow, deliberate moments heighten the tension and build anticipation. They emphasise the unspoken feelings between Chow and Chan. The film is more about atmosphere and mood than dialogue, and Kar-wai allows the camera to linger, letting the audience fully absorb the weight of each moment.

The film’s visual repetition also mirrors the cyclical nature of the characters' lives. We see them walking down the same dimly lit corridors, passing each other on the stairs, and sharing moments in their cramped apartments. These spaces become metaphors for the emotional distance between them, no matter how physically close they are. Recurring motifs such as rain serve as a metaphor for cleansing and sorrow. The characters are often seen in rain-soaked streets. It symbolises their emotional turmoil and brief solace in each other's company.

Kar-wai presents love not as a grand, sweeping emotion but as something fragile and ephemeral. The characters’ refusal to act on their feelings is not out of a lack of desire but a sense of duty and morality. The film doesn’t offer the satisfaction of closure but leaves us with the ache of what might have been. In this restraint and subtlety, ‘In the Mood for Love’ finds its emotional power.

The film left me with questions about the nature of love: Is it better to have a fleeting, unrealised connection than to risk the complications of a full-blown affair? How do we cope with desires that we can never fulfil?

In The Mood for Love

Director: Wong Kar-wai

Cast: Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung

Duration: 1 hour 38 minutes

Year: 2000

Language: Cantonese, Shanghainese