In the Mood for Love (2001)
94%RT Audience Score: 94%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award
46 wins & 51 nominations total
This understated romance, featuring good performances by its leads, is both visually beautiful and emotionally moving.
In The Mood For Love is like a love letter to the senses. The colors, the music, the glances – everything is so beautifully crafted that you can’t help but be swept away by the story. It’s like a dream that you don’t want to wake up from, even though you know it can’t last forever. And let’s be real, who wouldn’t want to be lost in the world of Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung? They’re like the ultimate power couple, even if they never actually get together. So if you’re in the mood for a little romance and a lot of style, this is the movie for you.
Production Company(ies)
Block 2 Pictures, Jet Tone Production Orly Films,
Distributor
USA Films, Criterion Film Corp., Criterion Collection
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Thailand
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG for thematic elements and brief language
Year of Release
2001
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:1.66 : 1
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Runtime:1h 37m
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Language(s):Cantonese, Shanghainese, French, Spanish
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Feb 26, 2001 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): May 1, 2008
Genre(s)
Romance/Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Maggie Cheung Man-yuk, Kelly Lai Chen, Rebecca Pan, Ping Lam Siu, Tsi-Ang Chin, directed by Kar-Wai Wong, written by Kar-Wai Wong, produced by William Chang, romance, drama, PG rating, box office gross $2.7M, reviewed by Adam Kempenaar, Kevin Maher, Jake Wilson, Kent Jones, David Denby, Jack Mathews, Victor Pineyro, Charles Mudede, Gautam Anand, Amanda Mazzillo, Brian Eggert, Don Shanahan, 1962 Hong Kong, extramarital affairs, loneliness, emotional connection, beautiful dresses, Dolby Stereo, Dolby Digital, Dolby A, Surround, Dolby SR, Flat (1.66:1), journalist, cheating spouses, friendship, unfaithful, love, human connection, time, distance, silence, intimacy, thematic elements, brief language, Chinese, USA Films, Criterion Film Corp., Criterion Collection, 1h 37m
Worldwide gross: $14,202,625
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $23,935,520
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,641
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 2,610,198
US/Canada gross: $2,738,980
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $4,615,971
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,831
US/Canada opening weekend: $113,280
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $190,909
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,679
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Maggie Cheung – Su Li-zhen
Kelly Lai Chen – Mr. Ho
Rebecca Pan – Mrs. Suen
Ping Lam Siu – Ah Ping
Tsi-Ang Chin – Amah
Director(s)
Kar-Wai Wong
Writer(s)
Kar-Wai Wong
Producer(s)
William Chang
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award
46 wins & 51 nominations total
Academy Awards
All Critics (144) | Top Critics (45) | Fresh (131) | Rotten (13)
…even the camera has to steal glances.
August 28, 2021 | Rating: 5/5
Adam Kempenaar
Filmspotting
TOP CRITIC
[A] mesmerising tale of love never realised – it’s up there with Brief Encounter and Roman Holiday as the best of the genre.
July 23, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Kevin Maher
Times (UK)
TOP CRITIC
The settings are wilfully drab – narrow corridors, cramped apartments – yet the fragmentary, richly coloured images are dazzling.
November 16, 2018
Jake Wilson
The Age (Australia)
TOP CRITIC
In the Mood for Love belongs to Cheung, whose beauty lights up the movie like the polar star lights up a winter sky. Cheung is one of the few modern actresses who understands her own physical beauty as an expressive instrument.
April 10, 2018
Kent Jones
Film Comment Magazine
TOP CRITIC
So skillfully does the director brings us to a state of breathless expectation that when he refuses to deliver the goods he almost seems to have invented a new form of perversion.
April 15, 2014
David Denby
New Yorker
TOP CRITIC
In the Mood is a love story told from the point of impact, at the heart, and no conventional resolution could be more profound.
April 15, 2014 | Rating: 3.5/4
Jack Mathews
New York Daily News
TOP CRITIC
The film shows why we are attracted to the prohibited. A finesse to watch, hear and feel. [Full review in Spanish]
June 23, 2022 | Rating: 9/10
Victor Pineyro
Seventh Art Studio
In the Mood For Love is not a ‘hole in the wall’ but a universe filled with possibilities that are invisible to us Westerners…
June 10, 2022
Charles Mudede
The Stranger (Seattle, WA)
In The Mood For Love is not just a film; it is poetry in motion.
March 22, 2022 | Rating: 5/5
Gautam Anand
The Cinemaholic
Wong Kar-Wais In The Mood For Love is a beautiful film examining silence, intimacy, time, and distance in captivating ways which show just how beautiful film can be when true attention is taken to utilize this visual medium to its fullest potential.
March 8, 2022
Amanda Mazzillo
Amanda Mazzillo’s Cinematic Adventures
There are boundless delights in Wong’s exploration of the ephemeral, desirous chambers of the mind.
February 12, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
Brian Eggert
Deep Focus Review
Moody, colorful and melodic masterpiece of pining and passion
February 12, 2022
Don Shanahan
Cinephile Hissy Fit Podcast…
Plot
Set in Hong Kong, 1962, Chow Mo-Wan is a newspaper editor who moves into a new building with his wife. At the same time, Su Li-zhen, a beautiful secretary and her executive husband also move in to the crowded building. With their spouses often away, Chow and Li-zhen spend most of their time together as friends. They have everything in common from noodle shops to martial arts. Soon, they are shocked to discover that their spouses are having an affair. Hurt and angry, they find comfort in their growing friendship even as they resolve not to be like their unfaithful mates.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Fresh Kernels doesn’t provide any goofy or funny comments about the film or its cast.
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