In The Mood For Love (2000)

Sunday, October 22, 2017 @ 2:00 PM
John Dutton Theatre, Central Library - 616 Macleod Trail SE, Calgary AB
FREE Admission

Thursday, November 09, 2017 @ 7:00 PM
The Plaza Theatre - 1133 Kensington Road NW, Calgary, AB
$12 General | $10 Members/Seniors/Students | $40 5-Pack Punch Pass | $99 Season Pass

Critical Cinema: Master Directors

IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE | Dir. Wong Kar-Wai | 2000 | 98 min
Presented in Cantonese, Shanghainese, French, and Spanish with English subtitles

When it comes to cinema, gentleness - very probably a virtue - is certainly a relief. We are now so used to characters parading their behaviour extrovertly, ideas which bludgeon us with their obviousness, and cameras which move with neurotic frenzy that it is uplifting to witness a story which unfolds in peace and quiet.And quietness, by the way, doesn't mean bland.

What we have here is a beautifully-tailored, low key (but always dramatic) story by Wong Kar-Wai (all of whose films have won awards, including Best Director at Cannes for Happy Together), which details the developing relationship between a young man and woman, both of whose spouses, they eventually learn, are cheating on them. As they are drawn together, initially by a pleasant, warm formality, and eventually by much deeper feelings in a cultural climate where respectability is crucial, they do their utmost to hide their small moves from those around them.

In fact, Wong Kar-Wai - a most intelligent, thoughtful director - only ever has the two key characters in close up so that we absorb the essence of the relationship, and the film. A true master of visual storytelling, he makes close ups of a hand knocking on a door, mustard being placed on a plate, and a quick blink of an eye entirely relevant to the picture's emotional core. Both Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung are at one with the director's desire for performances which rely on nuance, and they powerfully express that guilty mix of tension and desire. - BBC Films

Awards (with 44 Wins and 43 Nominations, see the whole list here)
2000 CANNES FILM FESTIVAL - WINNER (Best Actor| Tony Chiu-Wai Leung, Technical Grand Prize | Christopher Doyle, Ping Bin Lee, William Chang), NOMINATION (Palme d'Or | Wong Kar-Wai)
2001 BAFTA AWARDS - WINNER (BAFTA Film Award, Best Film not in the English Language | Wong Kar-Wai)
2001 GRAND PRIX DE L'UCC - WINNER (Grand Prix de l'UCC)
2001 HONG KONG FILM CRITICS SOCIETY AWARDS - WINNER (Film of Merit, HKFCS Award, Best Director | Wong Kar-Wai)
2001 NEW YORK FILM CRITICS CIRCLE AWARDS - WINNER (NYFCC Award, Best Cinematographer | Christopher Doyle, Ping Bin Lee, and Best Foreign Language Film, Hong Kong/France)

In the Mood for Love is the first work in our MASTERS: Wong Kar-Wai series. 

MASTERS: WONG KAR-WAI

The Calgary Cinematheque is proud to showcase the films of Wong Kar-Wai as part of the Masters series. Wong Kar-Wai is a genuine auteur whose signature style is instantly recognizable in his films due to the presence of eye-popping visuals, memorable music and characters that linger long in the memory.

CC: Master Series: Wong Kar-Wai Whitepaper >

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