Miscellaneous Movie Musings

[innerSpaceman]

Two films by Wong Kar Wai last nite:

Happy Together - 1997 movie about a dysfunctional Chinese gay couple stranded in Argentina. OMG, botched mess of bad editing, script, cinematography and concept. The fuctupness of the two guys and their on-again-off-again lives together and not was relentlessly distressing. But Tony Leung is a total cutie as the more sympathetic of the two lovers.

-and-

In the Mood for Love - beautiful but sad film about neighbors in 1962 Shanghai who find their respective spouses (his wife, her husband) are having an affair. They start spending a lot of time together, fall deeply in love, but refuse to carry on like the spouses they are so upset with ... and never fulfill the promise of their romance.

I found it astonishing that, in 2000, just 3 years later, the same director and cinematographer created this work of stunning beauty. Gorgeous cinammontography, assured editing, stylish directing, fantastic use of music. Evocative and moody, but not a downer until near the end when you realize the two lovesters will never be lovers. They are played by the yummy Tony Leung (a little older than he was in Happy Together, but still so handsome) and the unbelievably gorgeous Maggie Cheung.

It took me a while to remember where I'd seen them as a couple before ... and it was in Yimou Zhang's stunning 2002 film Hero (which I also hearily recommend if you haven't seen it).

[Eliza Hodgkins 1812]

Originally Posted by innerSpaceman

In the Mood for Love - beautiful but sad film about neighbors in 1962 Shanghai who find their respective spouses (his wife, her husband) are having an affair. They start spending a lot of time together, fall deeply in love, but refuse to carry on like the spouses they are so upset with ... and never fulfill the promise of their romance.

Tony Leung is so frellin' gorgeous in Mood. I love this movie so much. I've avoided the "quasi-sequel", 2046. Even though he's supposed to be just an echo of the character he played in Mood, I rather like how the other film ended. How he was left. I'll probably watch it eventually.

Amazon description of 2045, behind a spoiler tag because it's lengthy.

Spoiler:

In Wong Kar Wai's quasi-sequel to In the Mood for Love, 2046 is a hotel room, a futuristic story, and a state of mind. Tony Leung returns as Chow, but perhaps not the same Chow who appeared in the first film. Starting three years later in 1966, we see Chow on various Christmases as he lives, loves, and writes in a hotel and nearby restaurants. Although he is less sensitive and more of a ladies man now, Chow's love life always seems to exceed his grasp. Whether the character is the same (the director calls this an "echo" of the first movie) might be trivial. Hong Kong filmmaker Wai is such a visualist (Time magazine tabbed him as the "world's most romantic filmmaker"), the images wash over with swirling smoke, neon lights, and the faces of his outstanding cast, all lovingly photographed and smoothly scored. There's a lot more going on than the visuals, and Wai's fans will certainly find more and more details on repeated viewings. We travel into Chow's futuristic story, where the acquaintances become fictional characters traveling to a place where "everyone goes" to recapture lost memories. Often Chow talks about never seeing a lover ever again, but eventually bumps into her. The final result is a film some will cherish; others will long for the more traditional storyline of the first film. Wai certainly finds a new direction for actress Ziyi Zhang (House of Flying Daggers) as a prostitute who becomes one of Chow's many lovers. And Leung continues to be one of the world's great film actors, with a face and acting style the camera just loves. --Doug Thomas