In the Mood for Love
Release date: 2000-09-29
Votes: 3099
Genres: Drama, Romance
Two neighbors form a strong bond after both suspect extramarital activities of their spouses. However, they agree to keep their bond platonic so as not to commit similar wrongs.
Reviews
CinemaSerf
This is a fine piece of cinema from Wong Kar-Wai that tells us a story of two people whom circumstance throws together - but not in a way you might expect. We start with two couples who move into a new building. One a newspaper man with his wife, the other a business executive and his wife. The businessman is rarely at home, nor is the journalist's wife - which leaves the other two at increasingly loose ends. It isn't long before a friendship develops - usually over some noodles - and though entirely platonic, their relationship becomes solid and trusting. Then, something entirely unexpected occurs that causes the two to refocus their relationship in the face of betrayal and disappointment - and well.... What helps this film stand out are the performances from both Tony Leung ("Chow Mo-wan") and the gorgeous Maggie Cheung ("Mrs. Chan") - it's a love story, and it burns intensely - but not physically - as their story subsumes both themselves and the audience. The film looks marvellous, is paced stylishly and uses quite a bit of Nat King Cole to set and keep the mood atmospheric, romantic and interesting. The photography offers us lingering close ups, we get a sense of them falling in love as if we, too, were undergoing the same experience and that all adds to the richness of the story. To give us a breather from the intensity, there are some fun scenes with their very close neighbours who love nothing better than to sit up all night playing mahjong!! Super film, this - flew by.
Movie Recommendation
Chungking Express1994-07-14Two melancholic Hong Kong policemen fall in love: one with a mysterious underworld figure, the other with a beautiful and ethereal server at a late-night restaurant.More...
20462004-10-20Women enter and exit a science fiction author's life over the course of a few years after the author loses the woman he considers his one true love.More...
Happy Together1997-05-30A gay couple from Hong Kong takes a trip to Argentina in search of a new beginning but instead begins drifting even further apart.More...
Fallen Angels1995-09-06An assassin goes through obstacles as he attempts to escape his violent lifestyle despite the opposition of his partner, who is secretly attracted to him.More...
My Blueberry Nights2007-11-28Elizabeth has just been through a particularly nasty breakup, and now she's ready to leave her friends and memories behind as she chases her dreams across the country. In order to support herself on her journey, Elizabeth picks up a series of waitress jobs along the way. As Elizabeth crosses paths with a series of lost souls whose yearnings are even greater than her own, their emotional turmoil ultimately helps her gain a greater understanding of her own problems...More...
Rififi1955-04-13Out of prison after a five-year stretch, jewel thief Tony turns down a quick job his friend Jo offers him, until he discovers that his old girlfriend Mado has become the lover of local gangster Pierre Grutter during Tony's absence. Expanding a minor smash-and-grab into a full-scale jewel heist, Tony and his crew appear to get away clean, but their actions after the job is completed threaten the lives of everyone involved.More...
In the Mood for Love 20012025-02-14Set in a convenience store, this short film was originally intended as the third segment of Wong Kar-wai’s unrealized anthology film Three Stories About Food. It is now considered the prototype for My Blueberry Nights (2007).More...
The Double Life of Véronique1991-05-15Véronique is a beautiful young French woman who aspires to be a renowned singer; Weronika lives in Poland, has a similar career goal and looks identical to Véronique, though the two are not related. The film follows both women as they contend with the ups and downs of their individual lives, with Véronique embarking on an unusual romance with Alexandre Fabbri, a puppeteer who may be able to help her with her existential issues.More...
The Exterminating Angel1962-05-16A formal dinner party starts out normally enough, but after the bourgeois group retire to the host’s music room, they inexplicably find themselves unable to leave.More...
Days of Being Wild1990-12-15Yuddy, a Hong Kong playboy known for breaking girls' hearts, tries to find solace and truth after discovering the woman who raised him isn't his mother.More...
Raise the Red Lantern1991-12-18In 1920s China, 19-year-old Songlian becomes a concubine of a powerful lord and is forced to compete with his three wives for the privileges gained.More...
La Pointe Courte1956-01-04A penetrating study of a marriage on the rocks, set against the backdrop of a small Mediterranean fishing village. Both a stylized depiction of the complicated relationship between a married couple and a documentary-like look at the daily struggles of the inhabitants of Sète in the South of France.More...
The Grandmaster2013-01-10Ip Man's peaceful life in Foshan changes after Gong Yutian seeks an heir for his family in Southern China. Ip Man then meets Gong Er who challenges him for the sake of regaining her family's honor. After the Second Sino-Japanese War, Ip Man moves to Hong Kong and struggles to provide for his family. In the mean time, Gong Er chooses the path of vengeance after her father was killed by Ma San.More...
Pieta2012-09-06A loan shark is forced to reconsider his violent lifestyle after the arrival of a mysterious woman claiming to be his long-lost mother.More...
As Tears Go By1988-06-09Mid-level gangster Wah falls in love with his beautiful cousin, but must also continue to protect his volatile partner-in-crime and friend, Fly.More...
Reservation Road2007-09-13Two fathers' lives intersect when one of them is involved in a terrible and sudden hit-and-run car accident that leaves the other's son dead. In response, the two men react in unexpected ways as a reckoning looms in the near future.More...
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring2003-09-19An isolated lake, where an old monk lives in a small floating temple. The monk has a young boy living with him, learning to become a monk. We watch as seasons and years pass by.More...
The 400 Blows1959-06-03For young Parisian boy Antoine Doinel, life is one difficult situation after another. Surrounded by inconsiderate adults, including his neglectful parents, Antoine spends his days with his best friend, Rene, trying to plan for a better life. When one of their schemes goes awry, Antoine ends up in trouble with the law, leading to even more conflicts with unsympathetic authority figures.More...
Red Cliff2008-07-10In 208 A.D., in the final days of the Han Dynasty, shrewd Prime Minster Cao convinced the fickle Emperor Han the only way to unite all of China was to declare war on the kingdoms of Xu in the west and East Wu in the south. Thus began a military campaign of unprecedented scale. Left with no other hope for survival, the kingdoms of Xu and East Wu formed an unlikely alliance.More...
The Lives of Others2006-03-23In 1984 East Berlin, dedicated Stasi officer Gerd Wiesler begins spying on a famous playwright and his actress-lover Christa-Maria. Wiesler becomes unexpectedly sympathetic to the couple, and faces conflicting loyalties when his superior takes a liking to Christa-Maria.More...
Similar Movies
Wet Sand
2022-11-24A village on the Georgian Black Sea is full of friendly people convinced they know each other. One day, Eliko is found hanged. His granddaughter Moe comes to organize his funeral. She is confronted with a web of lies and the tragic consequences of Eliko's hidden love life with Amnon, which lasted 22 years. The truth however frees Moe’s capability to love and forces the villagers to take a stand.Revengence Superlady
1986-10-30A woman seeks vengeance against the man who killed her entire family.Things to Do in Denve...
1995-12-01Five different criminals face imminent death after botching a job quite badly.Driving Miss Daisy
1989-12-13The story of an old Jewish widow named Daisy Werthan and her relationship with her black chauffeur, Hoke. From an initial mere work relationship grew in 25 years a strong friendship between the two very different characters, in a time when those types of relationships were shunned.La Strada
1954-09-23When Gelsomina, a naïve young woman, is purchased from her impoverished mother by brutish circus strongman Zampanò to be his wife and partner, she loyally endures her husband's coldness and abuse as they travel the Italian countryside performing together. Soon Zampanò must deal with his jealousy and conflicted feelings about Gelsomina when she finds a kindred spirit in Il Matto, the carefree circus fool, and contemplates leaving Zampanò.La Haine
1995-05-31After a chaotic night of rioting in a marginal suburb of Paris, three young friends, Vinz, Hubert and Saïd, wander around unoccupied waiting for news about the state of health of a mutual friend who has been seriously injured when confronting the police.The English Patient
1996-11-14In the 1930s, Count Almásy is a Hungarian map maker employed by the Royal Geographical Society to chart the vast expanses of the Sahara Desert along with several other prominent explorers. As World War II unfolds, Almásy enters into a world of love, betrayal, and politics.Summer in Berlin
2005-09-09An intimate study of two women friends who come to each other because of troubles with everyday life and with men and thus try to enjoy a life based on their ideas.About the Looking for...
2005-01-27Director helmut Dietls and Patric Susskinds illustrate a legendary story of two lovers who cant keep themselves away from death.8½
1963-02-14Guido Anselmi, a film director, finds himself creatively barren at the peak of his career. Urged by his doctors to rest, Anselmi heads for a luxurious resort, but a sorry group gathers—his producer, staff, actors, wife, mistress, and relatives—each one begging him to get on with the show. In retreat from their dependency, he fantasizes about past women and dreams of his childhood.La Dolce Vita
1960-02-05Episodic journey of journalist Marcello who struggles to find his place in the world, torn between the allure of Rome's elite social scene and the stifling domesticity offered by his girlfriend, all the while searching for a way to become a serious writer.Human Nature
2001-09-12Obsessive scientist Nathan and his lover, the naturalist Lila, discover Puff: a man born and raised in the wild. As Nathan trains the wild man in the civilized ways of the world, Lila fights to preserve the man’s natural state. In the power struggle that ensues, an unusual love triangle emerges.Leaving Las Vegas
1995-10-27Ben Sanderson, an alcoholic Hollywood screenwriter who lost everything because of his drinking, arrives in Las Vegas to drink himself to death. There, he meets and forms an uneasy friendship and non-interference pact with prostitute Sera.A Beautiful Mind
2001-12-14From the heights of notoriety to the depths of depravity, John Forbes Nash Jr. experiences it all. As a brilliant but socially awkward mathematician, he made a groundbreaking discovery early in his career and stands on the brink of international acclaim. But as the handsome and arrogant Nash accepts secret work in cryptography, he becomes entangled in a mysterious conspiracy. His life takes a nightmarish turn and he soon finds himself on a painful and harrowing journey of self-discovery.Romeo + Juliet
1996-11-01In director Baz Luhrmann's contemporary take on William Shakespeare's classic tragedy, the Montagues and Capulets have moved their ongoing feud to the sweltering suburb of Verona Beach, where Romeo and Juliet fall in love and secretly wed. Though the film is visually modern, the bard's dialogue remains.Sissi
1955-12-22The young Bavarian princess Elisabeth, who all call Sissi, goes with her mother and older sister Néné to Austria where Néné will be wed to an emperor named Franz Joseph, Yet unexpectedly Franz runs into Sissi while out fishing and they fall in love.Sissi: The Young Empr...
1956-12-01Sissi is now the empress of Austria and attempts to learn etiquette. While she is busy being empress she also has to deal with her difficult new mother-in-law, while the arch-duchess Sophie is trying to tell the emperor how to rule and also Sissi how to be a mother.Sissi: The Fateful Ye...
1957-12-18After a wonderful time in Hungary Sissi falls extremely ill and must retreat to a Mediterranean climate to rest. The young empress’ mother takes her from Austria to recover in Madeira.As It Is in Heaven
2004-09-03A musical romantic tragedy about a famous composer who moves back to his small hometown after having had heart troubles. His search for a simple everyday life leads him into teaching the local church choir, which is not easily accepted by the town yet the choir builds a great love for their teacher.Brute
1997-11-07Shipped off to a Romanian orphanage to finish his sentence, a British criminal finds romance but also discovers corruption inside the facility.