In the Mood for Love

Another experience with watched a film “ In the Mood for Love”. This is a 2000 Hong Kong film directed by Wong Kar Wai. Staring by Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung. I really can’t understand what this story tell about. I think I must watch twice or above only I get what really director of this film want to bring out. It apply the theory of French Impressionism in this film. French impressionism is the theory that very hard for me to understand. I think I need to watch another film that apply this theory. The relationship of love in this film also had a lot of confuses.

French Impressionism popular around 1919-1928. After war French filmmaking never fully recovered. In 1920s, French audiences saw eight times more Hollywood footages than domestic footages. The film industry tried in several ways to capture the market, mostly through imitation of Hollywood production methods and genres. For these directors said that this cinema was an art of emotion, so the imitate psychological narrative dominated their practice. They used love of triangle as the basis for the filmmaker’s exploration of fleeting moods and shifting sensations. The characteristics of this theory is effect of explore the depth of psychology. It also revealing character’s consciousness, concerns mental states, dreams or fantasies. The interest falls not on external physical behavior but in inner action. Next is plot time of the film is manipulates. Which means they arrangers the time and the scene. Sometimes will have flashback to depict memories. We can view from different point with cinematography and editing. The use irises, superimposition, to indicate the character’s thought and feelings. The visual also will distorted, filtered or vertiginous cam movement to show the dizzy or drunkenness. Point of view can see that the rhythmic editing show the experience of how a character in a situation. The movement of the cam very smooth to brought about by frame mobility.

They are some scene that we can see the how French impressionism apply in his film. One of the scene is after communication between Mr, Chow and Mrs. Chan, Mr. Chan go back his office and smoked. When he smoke, the smoke show on the scene like a cloud. It show that the mind inside Mr. Chan. He is confusing in love, cause we can see that the shape of the smoke very cloudy. So Mr. Chan is no focus and mind very cloudy.

And about the time in this film, editor use a lot of jump cut to show that the time go through very fast. I can see that storyline is actually go through very smooth, so I won’t confuse I will miss any scene. In this movie they repeating the same location. Which mean they repeating their life. The slow motion always show women butt come in the frame, it show that they not having a good time and also the sexuality life and society of them. The beginning of the scene until the end, they not showing Mr. Chan and Mrs. Chow, which mean if they not showing face so why still waiting. Next is Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan love each other but they don’t want to say out. We can see that this kind of love is different than what we thought about love. Not all the love is same way. The story is show the process instead of result.

In conclusion, this film is a French impressionism film. It fully apply the characteristic and style in this film. I happy that I can learn how to justice a film in another style and style.