In the Mood for Love's movie review

(In the Mood for Love, 2000)

Today's movie review is about the film named 'In the Mood for Love'. The film 'In the Mood for Love' has applied the theory of french impressionism cinema. French Impressionism Cinema explores psychological causes, gives narration considerable psychological depth, revealing play of the character's consciousness, concerns mental states, dreams or fantasies. It manipulates plot time and subjectivity by showing flashbacks or memories.

Synopsis:

The story begin with Su Li Zhen and Chow Mo Wen moved into the apartment. They often being alone for meals as their spouses always not at home for a long time. After some times, Su and Chow knew they were cheated by their spouses. Chow and Su cooperate to wrote the martial art serial for the paper. Su's long disappearance for the purpose of writing and was noticed by the neighbors. In order to eliminate distraction, Chow rented a hotel room to write the story. They thought that they will be degraded if they stooped to the level of their spouses. However, as times go, Su and Chow found out they have developed feelings for each other. Chow got a job offered in Singapore and he asked Su to came with him but at last Chow left by himself. Years later, Chow had returned Hong Kong to visit his landlord but discovered they had emigrate to Philippines. He asked the new owner about Su's landlady and got the answer of a woman and his son was living there now. Chow left without realizing Su is the lady living next door.

Introduction to French Impressionist Cinema:

French Impressionist Cinema is popular during 1919 to 1928. French Impressionism triggered off due to lack of interests by mass and the rising production costs. It explores the psychological causes, gives narration considerable psychological depth by revealing play of the character's conciousness, concerns mental states, dreams or fantasies. By showing flashback or memories, French Impressionist Cinema manipulates the time plot and subjectivity. It shows the visual depiction of mental states through the cinematography and editing.

Analysis:

In the term of editing, French Impressionist Cinema apply the use of irises, superimposition, masks to indicate the character's thoughts and feelings. There is one scene that shows Chow's wife was bathing and she was crying in the bathroom.

The aperture of the camera is low in that scene to show the overall feel of sadness.There is a scene that shows Chow had comforted Su to not thinking so much. After that, he also invited Su to help him in thinking about the story that he wrote. At the end, Chow thanked Su for the sesame paste that she made.

The superimposition of visual is applied in that scene in order to present the feel of guilty and shame as the sesame paste that made by Su was actually specially cooked for Chow after she heard that he wanted to have it but she lied that it was just because she have cooked the sesame paste in a big pot and there were still have some.

To show the dizziness or drunkenness, the visual are usually distorted, filtered or vertiginous camera movement is used. The character's experience of particular situation can be shown by using the point of view editing, rhythmic editing.

The camera movements of the French Impressionist Cinema is smooth and brought about by frame mobility. In order to achieve the frame mobility, the camera can be tied to cars, wheels, bobsleds, cables and more. There is a scene  that is showing Chow is walking at the lobby of the hotel. The camera is smooth when the footstep was shot. Another scene that shows a smooth camera movement is Su and Chow met at the alley that sell Wantan noodle.

The jump cut of Su in the hotel show the feeling of hesitation. The jump cuts show that she is walking up and down at the stair and wandering at the lobby outside the hotel room. This gives out the meaning of she was hesitated that is she going to meet Chow at the hotel room that he rented.

The purpose of the slow motion shot in the movie is to show the time is passing. When Su and Chow were in the hotel room writing the novel together, the shots were shot in slow motion. This give out the meaning of the time is passing slow when Su and Chow were together to write the novel.

Romance genre can be seen clearly in the movie. Romance genre often explores some themes such as love at first sight, young or older love, forbidden love or unrequited love. Although romance film does not always have a good or happy ending but still it has serves the audience an escape from their real life. In this movie, the theme that explored is the forbidden love that is immoral as Chow and Su were in love although they had their own marriage. In the end of the movie, it does not have a really happy ending for Su and Chow. Su raised up her child in the apartment they live before and Chow left the apartment after came back from Singapore to visit his own landlord without noticing that Su had moved back into the apartment.

Conclusion:

French Impressionist Cinema is once popular during the time 1919 to 1928, but later this kind of film gradually fade out as it needs lots of production costs and the audience are lack of interest toward it. French Impressionist Cinema always involve with the romance genre as the overall feeling and tempo that present by French Impressionist Cinema are slow. In the Mood for Love is a good example that can represent French Impressionist Cinema. The movie not only involves all the characteristics of the French Impressionist Cinema, it also contains the style of shooting the shot by the director. If you are careful enough, you will find out that through out the movie, the face of Su's husband and Chow's wife cannot be seen clearly, this is one of the features you can look into it.


References:

Romance Films. (n.d.). Retrieved April 15, 2017, from http://www.filmsite.org/romancefilms.html

Plot Summary. (n.d.). Retrieved April 15, 2017, from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118694/plotsummary