Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		3.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.0

In the Mood for Love Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 26, 2021

Wong Kar Wai's "In the Mood for Love" (2000) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include documentary on the making of the film; deleted scenes; video interview with director Wong Kar Wai; footage from a press conference featuring actors Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Maggie Cheung; and more. In Cantonese, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The neighbors

They move into the same apartment building on the same day. Both are shy and extremely polite. Both are married but living their lives as if they are single. Both are lonely and frustrated but pretend that they are happy.

Mrs. Chan (Maggie Cheung) tells everyone that asks about her husband that he is a man with a busy schedule. Right now he is in Japan, finalizing an important deal. She misses him but understands that spending time abroad is part of his job. Her job is simple -- she is a secretary in a tiny office in a busy district of the city.

Mr. Chow (Tony Leung Chiu-wai) is a news reporter. He has his own office and a big desk. He likes to smoke and often buys soup from a street vendor not too far away from his building. Occasionally, he also stops at a local bar where people know him and his wife. He pretends that he is there to have a drink with her, though he has no idea where she is. The act is to kill any potential rumors about his marriage before they spread around.

Because their apartments are next to each other, Mrs. Chan and Mr. Chow often meet. She always wears a beautiful dress and her hair is always impeccably coiffed. He always wears an elegant suit and tie. They smile at each other but rarely talk. Maybe if they were younger and still single…

Then, one day they break their rules and talk about their lives. They reluctantly admit what they have known for a long time -- that her husband has a mistress and that his wife has a lover. For a short period of time, the realization that the other person is just as miserable makes them feel better.

Eventually, Mrs. Chan and Mr. Chow begin teaching each other how to confront their partners. They are supposed to be angry but are not, because the feelings that ought to fuel their anger are missing. Very soon, however, they lose interest in the lessons and instead fall madly in love with each other.

This most beautiful film, which won the Best Actor Award (Tony Leung Chiu-wai) at the Cannes Film Festival in 2000, tells two very different stories. The first is about two lonely people who fall in love but decide not to follow their hearts. Their struggle to suppress their feelings is beautifully filmed by what was once the most formidable team in Asia: Hong Kong director Wong Kar Wai and Australian cinematographer Christopher Doyle.

The second story is about a city that no longer exists -- the overcrowded and claustrophobic, exotic, irresistibly beautiful Hong Kong from the early '60s. The film is filled with numerous elegant shots of unique buildings, streets, and marketplaces that Wong Kar Wai visited as a child after he moved with his family from Shanghai. These elegant shots are essentially the director’s memories of this lost city.

The sense of nostalgia that permeates the film is the glue that keeps the two stories together. The first is far easier to embrace, but the second is far more intriguing as the camera often spends a great deal of time studying the environment in which the main characters exist.

In addition to the excellent period locations (some filmed in Thailand and Macau), decors, dresses, and hairstyles, In the Mood for Love has a tremendous soundtrack. It combines music by Michael Galasso and Shigeru Umebayashi, who composed the terrific main violin theme, which was initially meant to appear in a film directed by Sejun Suzuki. Excerpts from classic songs performed by the great Nat 'King' Cole are heard throughout the film as well.

In the Mood for Love Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.66:1, encoded with MPEG-4 and granted a 1080p transfer, In the Mood for Love arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

It is immediately obvious that the entire film was regraded at L'Immagine Ritrovata because it has that prominent greenish hue that usually alters the original values of primaries and supporting nuances on restored projects that are finalized at the lab. I think that this is very unfortunate because with a few minor exceptions the film has a pretty different vibe now. Indeed, there really are only a couple of sequences -- such as the ones that feature the big red drapes (see screencapture #4) -- where the color red feels as prominent as it was in the past, which I personally find very problematic because it is essential for the intended ambience. How exactly? Well, the color red suggests passion and romance, but with the stronger greenish hue its significance is largely lost. The older master wasn't devoid of such greenish hues, but they were balanced in a particular way that preserved the prominence of the red(s). Also, the regrading appears to have flattened some native nuances and in some areas, sadly, 'lost' them as well. (You can see the changes in the right and left sides of screencapture #4). Some darker footage has less than optimal shadow definition, but my guess is that in native 4K the balance there is superior. Density levels are very good, but I think that there is room for some encoding optimizations, with darker areas again being most vulnerable. Image stability is excellent. The entire film looks very healthy as well. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

In the Mood for Love Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The only minor difference that I could identify is the slightly fuller sound in some areas, but I don't think that the difference is significant enough. The music sounds fantastic and there are plenty of lovely dynamic nuances, especially in more subdued material where the difference is typically difficult to appreciate. The dialog is very clear, clean, and stable.

In the Mood for Love Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• @ "In the Mood for Love - a long and very informative documentary on the making of the In the Mood for Love created by Jet Tone Films. It features various interviews with director Wong Kar Wai, Maggie Cheung, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, and Rebecca Pan, among others. In Cantonese, with optional English subtitles. (52 min, 1080i).

• Hua Yang De Nian Hua - a short film by Wong Kar Wai created from print elements discovered in a California warehouse. The film was created in 2000. Music only. (3 min, 1080i).

• The Soundtrack - in this video interview, film critic Tony Rayns discusses the unique soundtrack of In the Mood for Love. Also included are cues from the soundtrack. The interview was conducted for Criterion in 2012. In English, not subtitled. (9 min, 1080p).

• Wong Kar Wai - a video interview with director Wong Kar Wai conducted by film critic Michel Ciment and filmmaker Hubert Niogret and a "cinema lesson" presented by the director at the Cannes Film Festival.
  
  1. Interview - director Wong Kar-wai discusses some of the obstacles that had to be overcome during the production process and talks about the main characters in In the Mood for Love. In English, not subtitled. (23 min, 1080i).
  
  2. Cinema Lesson - director Wong Kar Wai talks about the creative process he favors, and specifically how an idea could evolve into a film, finding the right rhythm for his films, the editing process, etc. In English, not subtitled. (16 min, 1080i).

• Toronto International Film Festival - footage from a press conference held after the screening of In the Mood for Love at the 2000 Toronto International Film Festival, featuring actors Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Maggie Cheung. In English, not subtitled. (40 min, 1080i).

• Deleted Scenes - four deleted scenes. Excluding A Last Encounter, the rest come with optional commentary by director Wong Kar Wai. In Cantonese, with optional English subtitles.
  
  1. Room 246 (9 min, 1080i).
  2. Postcards (9 min, 1080i).
  3. The Seventies (9 min, 1080i).
  4. A Last Encounter (8 min, 1080i).

• Music Video - archival music video featuring a performance by Tony Leung Chiu-wai ("In the Mood for Love"). In Cantonese, with optional English subtitles. (5 min, 1080i).

• Restoration Trailer - trailer for L'Immagine Ritrovata's new 4K restoration of In the Mood for Love. (2 min, 1080p).

• Book - a perfect-bound, French-fold book featuring lavish photography, an essay by critic John Powers, a director's note, and six collectible art prints, as well as technical credits.

In the Mood for Love Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I prefer the color grading of Criterion's previous release of In the Mood for Love because it better replicates the look of the film I remember seeing. This upcoming release features a new 4K restoration from L'Immagine Ritrovata that was endorsed by Wong Kar Wai, but like so many projects that are completed at the lab it has a new color scheme that I don't find convincing. A lot of viewers will likely be perfectly fine with it, but the stylization in the film is such that even minor adjustments begin to alter its native ambience. The release is included in Criterion's World of Wong Kar Wai box set, which will be out next month.