Golden years

Hans 2022-03-23 09:01:42

The story of In the Mood for Love is very fascinating but many people are confused by it. The protagonists of the film, Zhou Muyun and Su Lizhen, each have their own families. Coincidentally, they moved into the newly rented house on the same day and became next-door neighbors. For various reasons, Zhou's wife and Su's husband had an extramarital affair. At the beginning, the author expressed this extramarital affair through many small details: Zhou Muyun went to pick up his wife but found that his wife had already left, and Su Lizhen often met Zhou who also ate alone at the noodle stall... This is actually the case. It was already hinted that the partners of the two were no longer around, and there was a problem in their love life; gradually, this invisible extramarital affair surfaced: Zhou's friend A Bing told Zhou that he saw his wife dating a strange man. Su called her husband and told her that her company would go back later after working overtime, but she returned home early and felt that her husband and Zhou's wife had a problem, so he went to Zhou's house to check on the situation; In the end, Su's husband went to Japan on a business trip, but Zhou's wife just happened to send a letter from Japan to Zhou. After reading it, Zhou angrily smashed the letter into a ball. These plots gradually revealed the fact that Zhou Muyun's wife and Su Lizhen's husband cheated. One night, when they could not go home due to the rain, they both stayed near the noodle stall. Zhou was smoking a cigarette with his back against the wall above the stairs, while Su waited for the rain to stop under the stairs, "peeking" at Zhou from time to time, and timely announcing Su's affection for Zhou. Later, the two made an appointment to come out for dinner, and the matter of the two was put on the table during the banquet. Su Lizhen started the imagination and simulation of the extramarital affair between her husband and Zhou's wife with a question of "how did they start", and has been using this as an excuse to deceive herself, going to the hotel for dinner with Zhou Muyun, all for the purpose of investigation And imagine "how did they start". In fact, Su Lizhen couldn't agree with cheating all the time, so she always needed an excuse. This excuse later turned into writing martial arts novels. Until one day, Zhou told her that he was going to Singapore because he had fallen in love with Su Lizhen unknowingly, but he knew that it was impossible for her to leave her husband, and asked to "act" for the last time, to perform when he left scene. He eventually went to Singapore, and Su Lizhen went to Singapore a few years later. She went to his residence in Singapore, smoked his cigarettes, took his slippers, and called him without saying anything just to listen. his voice. A few years later, Su Lizhen brought her son "Yongsheng" (taking the meaning of Jin Yong, Liang Yusheng, to express the nostalgia for that era) to live back in the house of the year, and Zhou also returned to Hong Kong to visit the house of the year. The landlord, Mr. Gu, did not have the courage to knock on the door next door, leaving only memories. Okay, the story is over, there seems to be no problem. In fact, this question is Zhou Muyun's attitude. Many classmates don't know the reason why Zhou Muyun approached Su Lizhen, thinking that it was just a natural love affair. In fact, Zhou first contacted Su because he had a very dark reason - revenge. When Zhou found out that his wife was cheating, he had the idea of ​​revenge on her husband. The original intention of his approach to Su was to hurt Su Lizhen: to take revenge on Su's husband who stole his wife, Zhou Muyun planned it step by step. The last step is the famous line "If there is one more ticket, will you go with me?" However, as the plot develops, he realizes that he has fallen in love unknowingly. On Su Lizhen. He didn't want to continue his plan, and he also understood that Su would not leave his husband, "We will not be like them." Su Lizhen has always adhered to her moral bottom line. So he had no choice but to leave Singapore to escape. There are many places in the film, such as in the scene where the two "acted" for the final parting, even when Su Lizhen couldn't bear the pain of parting and cried on his shoulder, Zhou Muyun's eyes were still thoughtful Casting to the distance, there are many similar places, most of which are expressed by Tony Leung's facial expressions, such as eyes and ambiguous smiles. Even Tony Leung, who played Zhou, said that he actually played Zhou as a villain. The reason why he is the villain is because he had bad intentions in the beginning. It's also easy to understand why Liang Sheng became the best actor in Cannes with this film, because his performance, especially his facial expressions, is the biggest thrust of the film's plot. This can be said to be very rare. The picture of In the Mood for Love is extremely beautiful, gorgeous and mixed with a run-down and decadent atmosphere. And the full color is particularly eye-catching. The suits of cheongsam on Zhang Manyu's body are even more attractive to countless people. It is almost impossible to see Zhang Manyu wearing the same cheongsam in two different scenes. It is said that Zhang Shuping made her twenty Many cheongsams... , The exquisite picture and the romantic three-beat soundtrack make In the Mood for Love become Wong Kar-wai's most popular and "worldly" film. What's more interesting is that, according to Zhang Shuping himself, the reason why there are so many cheongsams in this film is because "I want a kind of cheesy and unbeautiful, but everyone says it is beautiful" (Zhang Shuping's words). Many viewers can't understand the works of sunglasses, but they can feel the oriental beauty in "In the Mood for Love", which is also the biggest reason why "In the Mood for Love" is so popular. The speed of changing the cheongsam is comparable to Zhou Muyun's tie, because this detail is not very eye-catching, especially against the gorgeous cheongsam, so few people pay attention, but in fact, it is also difficult to see Liang Chaowei in the two. The same tie in different scenes. These details not only reflect that the people at that time had inherited the elegant dress of the 1930s in Shanghai, but also had technical considerations. As we all know, in Wong Kar Wai's films, the use of short shots or montages is very common. This is also true in "In the Mood for Love". It is often two shots that follow at the same location, but the time has changed, which is more typical. Some of them are Su Lizhen borrowing and returning books, the two eating at the restaurant, etc. These are all based on Su's cheongsam to distinguish different times. As for Maggie Cheung wearing a cheongsam and swaying to buy noodles in the alley, the slow motion played the atmosphere to the extreme, making the audience hooked. But although there are still many short shots, "Flower" can be regarded as a rare "quiet" film by Wong Kar-wai. "Stillness" is rarely seen in Wong Kar-wai's films. Most of the shots in his previous works are relatively "broken", the pictures are dynamic, and the stories are stitched together at will. In "Flowers", however, great changes have taken place, and the shots are mostly quiet and restrained. This of course has a lot to do with the photographer he uses. For example, he used Liu Weiqiang in "Chongqing Forest", so the hand-cranked camera in the film was very impressive, and in "Flower", the addition of Li Pingbin made the picture more quiet and full. The "static" use of mirrors is also related to the director's choice to use a more restrained narrative method. This film rarely lacks one of the stunts on which sunglasses are famous, narration. In Wong Kar-wai's past films, the narration is always a very conspicuous feature, and it is often the narration that, intentionally or unintentionally, reveals the fragile hearts of the characters in the film. In this film, the director tells the story almost entirely as a bystander, and there is no need for sensationalism at all. This restrained method also makes the taste of "In the Mood for Love" more subtle and meaningful, with endless aftertastes. There are many directors who are good at letting actors play, such as Guan Jinpeng, Er Dongsheng, and Du Qifeng. But Wong Kar-wai is one of the few directors who can dig the actor's temperament so deeply. When Wang Jiawei talked about the idea of ​​this story, he said, I didn't have a story at first, only two actors, Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung. Since they both have a classical temperament, they began to conceive the story of "In the Mood for Love". He likes to grind actors, exhaust them, and act in his original state. Most of the shots at this time are what he wants. Everyone is familiar with the 27 pears, and the 29 bowls of wonton noodles are all representative works. In fact, in Wang's films, the actor's state is indeed different. Liang Chaowei and Maggie Cheung in this film are amazing, and Liang has won the Cannes Film Award (another Chinese actor who won this honor is Ge You in "Alive"). As mentioned above, Liang's highlights are mainly In the expression, some very small expressions that are easy to be ignored just promote the development of the plot. There is another factor that may not be the reason why he asks the top actor, but I personally appreciate it very much. The voice is dense and introverted, full of magnetism. This is not just a matter of personal charm, but also a reflection of the actor's strength. I didn't recommend watching the Cantonese version. It's not that the Mandarin version is not good, but the original version feels different. And Maggie Cheung's performance is also very eye-catching. Many directors have praised her body language, which is particularly good in this film. Apart from the "swaying posture", you can even see her current mood from her back, lonely, sad and happy. These subtle emotions can be read from her posture. Wong Kar-wai is a master of emotions. What kind of emotions does this film convey? This question is more personal, personal experience is different, and the feeling of watching the movie is also different. However, there are still some commonalities that everyone can feel, such as rejection and rejection, hurt and hurt, and the sense of alienation between people. However, these are much weaker in "In the Mood for Love". "Flower" tells more about the nostalgia and recollection of the past era and a sense of vicissitudes. At the end of the film, Zhou Muyun came to Angkor Wat, which has experienced vicissitudes The hole in the wall whispered, or reminisced, or repented. It's the perfect footnote to that feeling. Like the subtitles in the film, everything that belongs to that era has passed away. All that was left was a sigh. It is recognized that, "Happy Spring" is Wong Kar-wai's transformational work. Compared with his previous works, the stories of these two films are very concise and there are not so many characters. For this reason, each image is delicate and three-dimensional, and the dramatic conflict is more intense. Vigorous, the whole work will be easier to exert force. "In the Mood for Love" can be said to be a more mature work inherited from "Spring". Indeed, in terms of directing skills, Wong Kar-wai at this time can already be said to be incompetent, and it is a masterpiece at his fingertips. Whether it is drama, art, or music, performance. Wong Kar-wai has found a balance very well, that is, without losing the charm of indulging in it, and losing a little bit of the spirit of the niche. Therefore, some people say that "In the Mood for Love" made Wong Kar-wai truly enter the public's field of vision. Whether this change is good or bad, I am afraid it is not clear. Perhaps, there is no right or wrong in this world.

View more about In the Mood for Love reviews

Extended Reading

In the Mood for Love quotes

  • Chow Mo-wan: In the old days, if someone had a secret they didn't want to share... you know what they did?

    Ah Ping: Have no idea.

    Chow Mo-wan: They went up a mountain, found a tree, carved a hole in it, and whispered the secret into the hole. Then they covered it with mud. And leave the secret there forever.

    Ah Ping: What a pain! I'd just go to get laid.

    Chow Mo-wan: Not everyone's like you.

  • Caption: He remembers those vanished years. As though looking through a dusty window pane, the past is something he could see, but not touch. And everything he sees is blurred and indistinct.