In the Mood for Love

If you liked this

Chungking Express1994

Same director, same yearning for connection amid crowded modern loneliness, but faster, funnier, more pop — a way to see where Wong Kar-wai's obsessions started before they slowed into ache.

But Its jittery, jump-cut energy and fragmented double narrative are a world away from Mood's stillness — don't expect the same hypnotic pace.

Carol2015

Todd Haynes gives you the same tactic — desire expressed through glances, cigarette smoke, and gorgeous restraint — but as a forbidden lesbian romance in 1950s New York instead of adultery's aftermath.

But More emotionally accessible and warmer than Wong's chilly melancholy; some may find its ending too hopeful by comparison.

Lost in Translation2003

Two lonely people, a charged non-affair, hotel corridors instead of Hong Kong stairwells — Sofia Coppola's film is Mood's closest American cousin in restraint and ambiguous almost-romance.

But Its jet-lagged, comic tenderness and neon Tokyo backdrop are lighter and funnier than Wong's saturated melancholy.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from In the Mood for Love

Cast

• 
  Maggie CheungSu Li-zhen
• 
  Tony Leung Chiu-waiChow Mo-wan
• 
  Siu Ping-LamAh Ping
• 
  Rebecca PanMrs. Suen
• 
  Kelly Lai ChenMr. Ho
• 
  Joe Cheung Tung-ChoMan Living in Mr. Koo's Apartment
• C
  Chan Man-LeiMr. Koo
• 
  Koo Kam-WahMrs. Koo
• 
  Mama HungAmah
• 
  Paulyn SunMrs. Chow (voice)
• 
  Roy Cheung Yiu-YeungMr. Chan (voice)
• 
  Julien CarbonFrench Tourist (uncredited)

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