In the Mood for Cheongsam

Last night Sarah and I watched In the Mood for Love with less than twenty viewers at the UP Film Center. I remember watching this film for the first time in 2001 in my ex's house in Iligan. I did not really appreciate it then because I was watching it in the computer.

The movie is absolutely way better watched in the big screen because it is, more than anything else, a feast to the senses. The colors are rich, the actors are amazing, the music is rapturous.

Wong Kar Wai, the director, must've carefully studied the scenes that each of them look like paintings, exploding with deep, brooding colors. The lamps are strategically placed to highlight and hide. Walls are splashed with bold prints to bring the scenes to life. Framing is maximixed to heighten the imprisonment of the characters.

Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung star as the neighbors who develop a relationship when they discovered that their spouses are having an affair. What evolved is a love that they don't know where to bring.

Tony Leung won the Best Actor Award in Cannes for his performance in the film. Maggie Cheung radiates, and that is an understatement. She brings a heap of depth to her role given her relatively few lines. She is full of pathos that at times I wanted to scream at her to simply let go and tell the freaking guy that she loves him.

That Maggie Cheung is sexy. Sarah and I were gushing over her impeccable cheongsams (46 in all according to IMDB) and hair (that takes five hours each day to prepare, again, according to IMDB). The cheongsams are a delight! It seemed that it was the fourth character in the film. Note to self: find a pretty cheongsam pronto!