In the Mood for Love

Film movements have influenced the stage of the film industry today. The two most important elements in film movements are films that are produced within particular period and nation and that share significant traits of style and form. Next, the filmmakers who operate within a common production structure and who share certain assumptions about filmmaking. (Bordwell & Thompson, 2009)

World War I has destroyed the French film industry and caused American films began to enter the French film's market in 1915. The local film industry tried to reborn in the market by referred the style and genre of Hollywood films, however, this move has deferred the perception of young French directors with their predecessor. Their predecessor treats filmmaking as commercial tools, unlike younger generation, create the cinema to be an art which able to compare with poetry, painting, and music.

French Impressionism happened in 1919 until 1928. The younger directors love to explore the psychological emotion because they think that cinema was an art of emotion. They have a huge interest in the inner action of the actors rather than physical behavior. On top of that, the directors love to play the concept of manipulating plot time and subjectivity hence flashbacks are very common. Impressionism focuses on the personal emotion to give the film narrative.

To display a unique style of the films, the filmmakers developed different types of cinematography and editing such as masks and superimposition to trace the actors' thoughts and feelings. For example, point-of-view cutting to show a character looking at something, then change the shot to that thing from an angle and distance which are in the same position of the character. This method is using to show what the character looking at. Besides, the filmmakers will use visual to show the characters' situation such as when the character is getting drunk or dizzy, the camera will shake to show dizzy or the filmmakers will use the distorted and vertiginous camera movement. Additionally, Impressionists also developed the rhythmic editing which means the pace of editing will increase as the mood of that particular scene was excited to create the climax. The filmmakers think that they can do more on the camera hence they tried to develop the frame mobility such as strapped their camera on the cars.

In the Mood for Love, 花樣年華 is a 2000 Hong Kong romantic film produced, written and directed by Wong Kar Wai. The story happened in Hong Kong in 1962 when Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan move into the same place and become a neighbor. Their spouse often leaves them alone because of career purpose. Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan found out they are in the same lonely situation and their spouse has an affair with each other. Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan often dating together to imagine and rehearsal their spouse how to betrayal them. They even always hang out together to write a martial-art series of novel. They actually fall in love with each other and Mr. Chow asks Mrs. Chan to follow him to go to Singapore because he got a new job offer over there however Mrs. Chan is too late to join Mr. Chow. Three years later, Mrs. Chan and Mr. Chow go back to the old place where they used to live there but they do not meet each other. The film ends at Mr. Chow whispering his little secret into a hole in a ruined wall.

This film is attractive because the formula was unfamiliar for us. The ending actually makes me felt sad because Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan did not being together although they fall in love with each other. The elements of French Impressionism can be found in this film especially the term of exploring psychology causes. There is a plot in the film where Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan buying and having their dinner at the same noodle stall. The BGM and the scene are similar and repeat for a few times. The director is trying to show they are do everything alone, having their meals alone. The expressionless of the characters shows they are used to the loneliness. When Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan found out their spouse having an affair, they imagine the scene of betrayal and rehearsal on it for few times. This shows the director apply the manipulating plot time effects in the film. The characters repeat the rehearsal but in a different dialog.

After Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan getting know each other better, they aware that they have some chemical between them. But they are struggling because they do not want to be like their spouse. They have a conversation about what if they haven't married. Both of them agree that they will be happier if they do not have married. Mr. Chow backs to his office and having a lot of smoke after the end of the conversation. The smoke, dark lighting and Mr. Chow expression show he is thinking and struggling. The smoke represents cloudy, his mind actually is crowded. Besides, time lapse effect can be found in the film. The time lapse effect makes the world is moving but not the character. This created the characters depress emotion.

Additionally, fast cut editing appears on after Mrs. Chan picks up the phone call from Mr. Chow and she is invited to the hotel to meet with him. Mrs. Chan arrived the hotel but she is struggling meet or not to meet with Mr. Chow. The confuse and excitement from Mrs. Chan match with fast pace editing elements to create the climax of her mood and the film. During the tutorial, we had a discussion about the director used freeze frame in certain footages such as Mr. Chow decided to go to Singapore but the frame is freezing at the moment he wants to leave and without Mrs. Chan's appearance. Mr. Joe said that it was a technique from director Wong Kar-wai as he wants to leave a memory on that particular scene. In my opinion, the freezing scene represents maybe Mr. Chow wants to wait for another moment to wait for Mrs. Chan. In this whole film, we can't see their spouses' faces and this makes the audiences very curious. But, does it important? Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan also can't see their betrayal so it is not necessary to show them to the audiences.

Frech impressionism ended in 1929. But it brings a huge influence on today's film industry. The concept, psychological narrative, cinematography and editing are not going to disappear. By the way, Maggie Cheung in the film is so beautiful!!!