WEBVTT 1 00:00:22.920 --> 00:00:26.600 We're Tomy Lorenzo and this is the Bitter Kitten Movie Club. 2 00:00:26.679 --> 00:00:28.679 Hello Kitten's Welcome back to another edition of the b 3 00:00:28.800 --> 00:00:31.399 k MC, a supplemental edition of the Pop Style Opinion 4 00:00:31.440 --> 00:00:33.759 Pest podcast where we take a look at one movie 5 00:00:33.799 --> 00:00:37.200 per week and unpack everything we can unpack about it. 6 00:00:37.240 --> 00:00:39.920 This week's movie is director of Wan car Wise in 7 00:00:39.960 --> 00:00:44.479 The Mood for Love from two thousand, starring Maggie Cheung 8 00:00:44.600 --> 00:00:50.119 and Tony Leung. And you know, I gotta say, this 9 00:00:50.159 --> 00:00:52.159 is the third time I've watched this film. The first 10 00:00:52.159 --> 00:00:54.920 time I watched this film, it was only about five 11 00:00:55.000 --> 00:00:57.840 or six years ago. I had heard about it, I 12 00:00:57.880 --> 00:00:59.600 had seen clips from it, but I had never watched 13 00:00:59.600 --> 00:01:03.280 the full film. And I was compiling a book proposal 14 00:01:03.320 --> 00:01:08.640 about movie costumes, still working on that, and I knew 15 00:01:08.640 --> 00:01:14.159 that her dresses, I knew that Maggie Chung's chungsund dresses 16 00:01:14.280 --> 00:01:17.280 were iconic, so I wanted to watch the film to 17 00:01:17.280 --> 00:01:19.239 see if I would include them in the book or whatever. 18 00:01:20.599 --> 00:01:24.519 Fell in love with the movie. And then I found 19 00:01:24.519 --> 00:01:26.280 out that you had not seen it, and I said, oh, 20 00:01:26.319 --> 00:01:28.319 you had to sit down and watch this. It's so beautiful, 21 00:01:28.359 --> 00:01:31.920 it's so you know about yearning and longing, and you know, 22 00:01:32.000 --> 00:01:35.159 the filmmaking is so gorgeous and they're so gorgeous. So 23 00:01:35.200 --> 00:01:37.079 then we watched it together and that was the second 24 00:01:37.120 --> 00:01:40.760 time I watched it. Then I watched it this week 25 00:01:41.480 --> 00:01:44.359 and I had a totally different read on it, and 26 00:01:44.400 --> 00:01:47.599 I thought, am I have I changed? Am I become 27 00:01:47.640 --> 00:01:53.000 more cynical? Or is this actually not a love story? 28 00:01:55.159 --> 00:01:58.000 And that's kind of what I want to unpack today 29 00:01:58.359 --> 00:02:04.159 is that it's I went into this this selection for 30 00:02:04.200 --> 00:02:07.239 this week, thinking, well, we're just going to talk about 31 00:02:07.319 --> 00:02:11.439 romance and longing and yearning and repression and all that 32 00:02:11.520 --> 00:02:14.199 other stuff that is in the film. Don't get me wrong, 33 00:02:15.080 --> 00:02:20.280 and I wouldn't suggest that those characters, mister Chow and 34 00:02:20.319 --> 00:02:23.840 missus Chan are not in love at certain points during 35 00:02:23.879 --> 00:02:27.759 the film. But what really struck me watching it this 36 00:02:27.879 --> 00:02:31.759 time was they're actually more in pain than they are 37 00:02:31.879 --> 00:02:35.400 in love. They share something, you know, they share something. 38 00:02:35.520 --> 00:02:40.439 And it was while I was watching them like an act, 39 00:02:40.639 --> 00:02:45.000 you know, roleplay their partners, where like they were pretending 40 00:02:45.120 --> 00:02:49.159 to confront their partner or pretending to be their partner 41 00:02:49.240 --> 00:02:53.479 who while committing adultery. And I'm watching these scenes I'm like, 42 00:02:53.560 --> 00:02:57.039 this is kind of fucked up what they're doing emotionally. 43 00:02:57.159 --> 00:03:02.240 They are stuck in this hole where they're enacting all 44 00:03:02.319 --> 00:03:04.879 of their pain on each other over and over and 45 00:03:04.919 --> 00:03:12.680 over again. And I don't know how I come down 46 00:03:12.680 --> 00:03:14.520 on this just yet. Maybe we all come to a 47 00:03:14.560 --> 00:03:18.039 conclusion by the end of this podcast, but I'm not 48 00:03:18.400 --> 00:03:22.000 sure they Well, I did say that they are in 49 00:03:22.120 --> 00:03:24.759 love at certain points in the movie. I don't know 50 00:03:24.800 --> 00:03:28.000 if that's real love though. Anyway, I'm gonna stop and 51 00:03:28.080 --> 00:03:29.400 let you give your impression. 52 00:03:29.479 --> 00:03:32.960 Well, I had heard about the movie, obviously, because everyone 53 00:03:33.000 --> 00:03:34.840 talks about it. I mean, the fashion industry is in 54 00:03:34.879 --> 00:03:39.080 love with this movie, rightly. So yeah, you know, people 55 00:03:39.120 --> 00:03:41.479 who love movie, they love this movie. And yes, there 56 00:03:41.560 --> 00:03:45.360 is this whole thing about including TUCM. I was watching 57 00:03:45.360 --> 00:03:48.240 it and they introduced the movie as one of the 58 00:03:48.280 --> 00:03:51.280 best love stories you know, in cinema, and so they 59 00:03:51.319 --> 00:03:53.599 do play that that, you know, play that out like 60 00:03:53.719 --> 00:03:57.039 it's one of the best love stories. I think it 61 00:03:57.080 --> 00:04:00.639 is in a way. It's about love, no doubt about it, 62 00:04:01.639 --> 00:04:05.560 because you know they're both married and they go through stuff. Yeah, 63 00:04:05.680 --> 00:04:07.919 and they meet each other and they have something in common, 64 00:04:08.719 --> 00:04:11.919 something they share and they explored that. Yeah, I think 65 00:04:11.960 --> 00:04:18.319 that's that's pretty much. The movie is absolutely perfection beautiful. 66 00:04:18.519 --> 00:04:20.720 It's one of the most beautiful movies I've ever seen 67 00:04:20.720 --> 00:04:24.040 in my life. Yeah, I feel like I'm, you know, 68 00:04:24.120 --> 00:04:27.399 looking at a fair May painting or something. It's just 69 00:04:27.480 --> 00:04:31.759 one of those gorgeous things produced. I agree that is perfection. 70 00:04:32.040 --> 00:04:35.079 I mean, they both look so gorgeous, and. 71 00:04:35.040 --> 00:04:38.000 I have never seen two people look so beautiful. The 72 00:04:38.040 --> 00:04:41.079 only thing I can compare it to is there's a 73 00:04:41.120 --> 00:04:46.439 movie called, Oh God, what's it called with Elizabeth Taylor 74 00:04:46.519 --> 00:04:50.319 and Montgomery Clipped. I just had it any Place in 75 00:04:50.360 --> 00:04:52.959 the Sun A Place in the Sun from nineteen fifty one, 76 00:04:53.199 --> 00:04:58.199 and by my book, I have always considered that the 77 00:04:58.240 --> 00:05:00.839 most beautiful couple ever captured on film. If you ever 78 00:05:00.920 --> 00:05:03.600 have a chance to just google the stills. I'm talking 79 00:05:03.600 --> 00:05:07.120 to the audience. I'm sorry, if you ever have a chance, 80 00:05:07.680 --> 00:05:09.360 or if you just want to google the stills. They 81 00:05:09.399 --> 00:05:12.120 are breath taking. It is Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clipped 82 00:05:12.199 --> 00:05:15.360 at the height of their beauty. And it's the same 83 00:05:15.399 --> 00:05:18.560 thing here with Tony Leong and Maggot Chunk, Like there 84 00:05:18.560 --> 00:05:21.079 are a time story. My god, these two people are 85 00:05:21.439 --> 00:05:22.079 breath taking. 86 00:05:23.680 --> 00:05:27.439 Yes, yeah, they're dressed so beautifully. He looks stunny, his 87 00:05:27.839 --> 00:05:31.600 hair is flawed. It looks like a goddess. I could 88 00:05:31.600 --> 00:05:35.040 not stop looking at her the entire time. How can 89 00:05:35.079 --> 00:05:39.720 you be that gorgeous and perfection? Perfection? Perfect? You're just perfect? 90 00:05:40.040 --> 00:05:42.959 You look your hair, you know, the custom the way 91 00:05:43.040 --> 00:05:45.240 she fells out those oh my god, the way she 92 00:05:45.399 --> 00:05:49.000 moves her arms and reminding the enselessness of her body. 93 00:05:48.879 --> 00:05:51.120 Reminded me a little bit of a bed feast. With 94 00:05:51.480 --> 00:05:55.279 the two ladies. How they move very gracefully. Everything is 95 00:05:55.360 --> 00:05:58.600 just gorgeous. She the costumes are beautiful. The costumes were 96 00:05:58.600 --> 00:05:59.959 designed by William. 97 00:05:59.800 --> 00:06:01.279 Chan Yeah, William Chang. 98 00:06:01.439 --> 00:06:04.160 Yeah, he worked very closely with the director. They had 99 00:06:04.160 --> 00:06:08.000 a very clear vision of what they wanted. And it's 100 00:06:08.000 --> 00:06:12.759 interesting because it's that Chinese dress that most women wore now, yeah, 101 00:06:13.759 --> 00:06:17.519 and it and which is kind of like one the 102 00:06:17.560 --> 00:06:22.160 same kind of silhouette and fit, but they they make 103 00:06:22.240 --> 00:06:26.120 it specially unique by changing the fabrics and adding details. 104 00:06:26.120 --> 00:06:29.720 And I mean, the basic dress is exactly the same 105 00:06:29.800 --> 00:06:33.319 and it's just changed up by fabrics, the different fabric 106 00:06:33.360 --> 00:06:37.240 fabric choices. So her silhouette remains exactly the same and 107 00:06:37.279 --> 00:06:40.399 her hairstyle except for when the time period shifts and 108 00:06:40.439 --> 00:06:42.399 in a little bit later she has longer hair, but 109 00:06:42.480 --> 00:06:47.279 she has that boufont hairdoo absolutely gorgeous, and it just 110 00:06:47.920 --> 00:06:52.519 it's just such a it combines so beautifully on her. 111 00:06:52.600 --> 00:06:55.439 There are other women in the film who have similar 112 00:06:55.480 --> 00:06:58.199 hairstyles that are wearing the same style of dress, but 113 00:06:58.279 --> 00:07:00.759 it just doesn't look the same on them as it 114 00:07:00.759 --> 00:07:01.240 does on her. 115 00:07:01.720 --> 00:07:04.199 The story is that it took five hours every day 116 00:07:04.439 --> 00:07:07.759 to do the hair makeup alone, because yeah, and you 117 00:07:07.759 --> 00:07:10.639 can see that, and I love that it reflects the 118 00:07:10.680 --> 00:07:15.519 sixties also it's very Asian but also the sixties, and 119 00:07:15.519 --> 00:07:20.680 it's just beautiful. She the designer made the custom designan 120 00:07:21.120 --> 00:07:23.920 I believe forty six dresses. She ended up wearing. How 121 00:07:23.920 --> 00:07:26.600 many tweets anyone dresses into film. 122 00:07:27.160 --> 00:07:30.360 She rarely re wears a dress. She does rewear a 123 00:07:30.399 --> 00:07:35.839 couple of them, but they're all such blindingly distinct prints 124 00:07:35.879 --> 00:07:38.839 and colors that every time she changes a dress, it's 125 00:07:38.920 --> 00:07:43.560 extremely noticeable. Like my film, and it's smart because of 126 00:07:43.600 --> 00:07:46.800 the style of filmmaking, which has a sort of dreamy 127 00:07:46.920 --> 00:07:50.839 it's not nonlinear, but it's not exactly. I mean, I 128 00:07:50.839 --> 00:07:54.439 think it all happens in order, but it sort of 129 00:07:54.480 --> 00:07:58.800 floats in and out. Things tend to repeat, and the 130 00:07:58.839 --> 00:08:01.759 only way you know time has passed is by her 131 00:08:01.879 --> 00:08:04.959 dresses bye bye, because they shift from scene to s the. 132 00:08:04.879 --> 00:08:07.120 Core of the movie. According to director, something I read 133 00:08:07.279 --> 00:08:10.079 is that that's what he wanted, repetition. It's pretty much 134 00:08:10.120 --> 00:08:12.800 the same emotions played. 135 00:08:13.160 --> 00:08:15.600 You know, they are people who are stuck in a 136 00:08:15.639 --> 00:08:19.120 loose yes, exactly, and so the film very much has 137 00:08:19.160 --> 00:08:22.839 that quality. And it's very much whenever the plucking cello 138 00:08:22.959 --> 00:08:25.959 strings happens and they go into a slow motion thing, 139 00:08:26.519 --> 00:08:31.040 it feels like people, beautiful people who are trapped, but 140 00:08:31.160 --> 00:08:32.200 they are trapped. 141 00:08:33.639 --> 00:08:36.039 I do think they both look incredible, and I think 142 00:08:36.080 --> 00:08:38.759 that it's funny because one of the bitch and neighbors 143 00:08:39.000 --> 00:08:41.720 I love her, she says, did she go dressed like 144 00:08:41.759 --> 00:08:43.440 that to get nudice? Yeah? 145 00:08:43.559 --> 00:08:46.399 Yeah, because I mean, because she's always perfect no matter 146 00:08:46.440 --> 00:08:49.159 where she goes, whatever she does to words, I do 147 00:08:49.519 --> 00:08:53.399 think sometimes you know this, this is a time and 148 00:08:53.440 --> 00:08:55.960 a place that is completely alien to me. I cannot 149 00:08:56.080 --> 00:08:59.360 talk about what Hong Kong in the nineteen sixties was like. 150 00:09:00.159 --> 00:09:03.799 Their lives would have been, like, however, one car, why 151 00:09:05.279 --> 00:09:07.639 does remember Hong Kong in the nineteen sixties, and he 152 00:09:07.720 --> 00:09:10.399 really wanted to recreate that period in that time. So 153 00:09:10.559 --> 00:09:14.000 I have to rely on my faith in him as 154 00:09:14.000 --> 00:09:16.799 a director that what he has done is faithful to 155 00:09:16.840 --> 00:09:20.960 the time and place. On the other hand, I do 156 00:09:21.000 --> 00:09:26.279 think it gets into a bit of Hollywood style fantasy 157 00:09:26.360 --> 00:09:29.279 when you look at where they're living and what they 158 00:09:29.399 --> 00:09:32.559 do for a living. It's kind of hard to reconcile 159 00:09:32.679 --> 00:09:34.360 that with the fact that they both look like movie 160 00:09:34.360 --> 00:09:37.480 stars throughout the entire movie, Like how does she look 161 00:09:37.600 --> 00:09:40.399 like that living in that tiny little aparty? And where 162 00:09:40.399 --> 00:09:42.279 does he even keep all those trustes? 163 00:09:42.360 --> 00:09:44.080 And I think he's aware of that because if you 164 00:09:44.120 --> 00:09:46.159 look at the walls, the walls are dirty. When you 165 00:09:46.200 --> 00:09:50.240 know the buzzer, everything, it's dirty and old, right, So 166 00:09:50.279 --> 00:09:53.039 it's an old building, you know, it's nothing fancy. 167 00:09:53.039 --> 00:09:56.639 Rainy alleyway that they needed that is gorgeous. It's all 168 00:09:56.840 --> 00:09:59.960 crumbling and stare light bulbs. But my god, it looks 169 00:10:00.200 --> 00:10:03.679 so beautiful. Meaning at the stairs all the time. I mean, 170 00:10:03.919 --> 00:10:10.399 just her, get Jesus Christ, look at her. I do think, uh, 171 00:10:11.240 --> 00:10:14.240 director Wong Uh and the cinematographer whose name I don't 172 00:10:14.279 --> 00:10:17.279 have in front of me, were very deliberately and how 173 00:10:17.320 --> 00:10:20.720 they shot her. They were very aware of how those 174 00:10:20.799 --> 00:10:23.080 dresses hug her body. They were very aware of the 175 00:10:23.120 --> 00:10:26.240 shape of her body. So, you know, it's weird for 176 00:10:26.279 --> 00:10:28.399 me to be sitting here talking about an actress's body 177 00:10:28.440 --> 00:10:32.519 in this, but they made it central. And you know, 178 00:10:32.879 --> 00:10:36.720 she has a long, thin, sinuous sort of body. And 179 00:10:37.039 --> 00:10:39.759 the way she moves on camera, the way they shot 180 00:10:39.799 --> 00:10:42.320 her as she moved through, you know, with her her 181 00:10:42.360 --> 00:10:44.879 pocketbook in the crook of her arm close up and 182 00:10:44.919 --> 00:10:49.519 you're watching her hips way that is just sexy, sexy, 183 00:10:49.600 --> 00:10:53.360 sexy as hell without being remotely This is what I'm 184 00:10:53.399 --> 00:10:56.360 trying to get at. They centered her body on screen 185 00:10:56.559 --> 00:11:00.799 quite a bit, but I did not feel it was lascivious. 186 00:11:00.879 --> 00:11:04.200 It's clearly the male gaze at work here. I mean, 187 00:11:04.679 --> 00:11:08.159 I wouldn't suggest otherwise, but I didn't think it was 188 00:11:08.159 --> 00:11:10.879 a lacibious framing of her body. It was simply the 189 00:11:10.879 --> 00:11:14.279 fact that her body looks amazing in those dresses. And 190 00:11:14.320 --> 00:11:18.039 they are constantly in very close quarters with each other, 191 00:11:18.279 --> 00:11:21.559 so you're getting close ups on her body, their bodies 192 00:11:21.600 --> 00:11:22.840 are constantly touching. 193 00:11:23.039 --> 00:11:26.080 But I also think their beauty makes a point that 194 00:11:26.200 --> 00:11:31.840 these two characters are absolutely breathtaking, their gorgeous. Yeah, and 195 00:11:31.919 --> 00:11:36.039 yet they're being you know, uh, their spouses are cheating, 196 00:11:36.120 --> 00:11:39.279 are cheating on them. So so it has a point 197 00:11:39.279 --> 00:11:41.039 there to show that these you know, these people are 198 00:11:41.080 --> 00:11:45.440 gor She is absolutely I've seen so many incredibly beautiful 199 00:11:46.000 --> 00:11:50.240 actors male and female on you know, on screen, on screen. 200 00:11:50.320 --> 00:11:53.279 But my god, she'll cut to her face every now 201 00:11:53.360 --> 00:11:56.879 and then every Wow, look at that face. Look at 202 00:11:56.919 --> 00:11:58.159 how perfect that face. 203 00:11:58.360 --> 00:12:01.440 She she is. But he is gorgeous as well. He's 204 00:12:01.559 --> 00:12:06.159 very beautiful. But she is insane. She Yeah, absolutely, She's 205 00:12:06.159 --> 00:12:09.720 like a porcelain doll. She's just incredible. All right. 206 00:12:09.799 --> 00:12:13.679 Let me say, let me read a quote from one 207 00:12:13.799 --> 00:12:16.000 car Wide that he gave to La Weekly around the 208 00:12:16.000 --> 00:12:18.200 time of the film. I think it's very interesting that 209 00:12:18.279 --> 00:12:20.480 most of the audience prefers to think that this is 210 00:12:20.519 --> 00:12:23.480 a very innocent relationship. These are the good guys, because 211 00:12:23.519 --> 00:12:27.000 their spouses are the first ones to be unfaithful, and 212 00:12:27.080 --> 00:12:31.279 they refuse to be Nobody sees any darkness in these characters, 213 00:12:31.320 --> 00:12:33.639 and that they are meeting in secret to act out 214 00:12:33.720 --> 00:12:38.279 fictitious scenarios of confronting their spouses and of having an affair. 215 00:12:38.879 --> 00:12:41.440 I think this happens because the face of Tony Leung 216 00:12:41.559 --> 00:12:44.720 is so sympathetic. Just imagine if it was John Malcobits 217 00:12:44.759 --> 00:12:48.200 playing this role, you would think this guy is really weird. 218 00:12:50.440 --> 00:12:54.240 And that's the other way I think director Wong uses 219 00:12:54.320 --> 00:13:01.039 their beauty is to mask that what's happening here is 220 00:13:01.080 --> 00:13:04.440 not really as it's I don't want to say that 221 00:13:04.480 --> 00:13:07.120 it's not innocent because it is innocent. I don't think 222 00:13:07.200 --> 00:13:14.440 they actually He says in certain interviews that they do 223 00:13:14.600 --> 00:13:17.679 not consummate the relationship, and there was some confusion about 224 00:13:17.679 --> 00:13:19.639 that because there was a scene where it looked like 225 00:13:19.679 --> 00:13:23.200 they had, but then they act throughout the rest of 226 00:13:23.240 --> 00:13:25.240 the film as if they've never even touched each other. 227 00:13:25.840 --> 00:13:30.960 And he said he has a very loopy, improvisational directing style. 228 00:13:31.039 --> 00:13:34.279 So they shot for like fifteen months. Maggie Chung. She 229 00:13:34.360 --> 00:13:37.320 gave an interview at the Toronto Film Festival that year 230 00:13:37.360 --> 00:13:39.399 where she talks about how pissed off she was working 231 00:13:39.440 --> 00:13:43.480 with him because he was just constantly they were improvising things, 232 00:13:43.519 --> 00:13:45.960 the story was shifting. He would do take after take 233 00:13:45.960 --> 00:13:48.320 after take, and it was very hard. There was no 234 00:13:48.679 --> 00:13:52.159 hard script for them to work with. I'm pointing this 235 00:13:52.240 --> 00:13:55.399 out because one of the scenarios that he did shoot 236 00:13:55.440 --> 00:13:57.759 is that they did have sex. I don't think he 237 00:13:57.799 --> 00:13:59.720 shot a sex scene, but they shot a scene where 238 00:13:59.720 --> 00:14:02.639 it was clear. It's clear, and then he decided not 239 00:14:02.679 --> 00:14:04.360 to use it in the film. He decided not to 240 00:14:04.399 --> 00:14:07.720 go in that direction. And that's a very interesting way 241 00:14:07.720 --> 00:14:11.159 of doing filmmaking because it leaves the audience with a 242 00:14:11.679 --> 00:14:14.320 because he used takes and he said that, he said, 243 00:14:14.360 --> 00:14:17.120 I used takes where they were acting as two people 244 00:14:17.159 --> 00:14:19.080 who had had sex. 245 00:14:18.799 --> 00:14:21.080 With each other. I can think of a couple of 246 00:14:21.279 --> 00:14:21.759 a couple. 247 00:14:21.639 --> 00:14:23.519 Of scenes where it seemed like they had and then 248 00:14:23.600 --> 00:14:25.559 later in the film it's like, oh no, they've they've 249 00:14:25.600 --> 00:14:30.840 never even touched. And I do think that's I guess 250 00:14:30.879 --> 00:14:34.519 what I'm trying to get out here is that this 251 00:14:34.600 --> 00:14:39.320 film is probably more impressionistic than it appears at first glance, 252 00:14:39.480 --> 00:14:43.919 and that even though it is relatively linear storytelling, I 253 00:14:43.960 --> 00:14:46.279 think I don't think you can take much of the 254 00:14:46.360 --> 00:14:48.879 I don't think you can take the film entirely literally. 255 00:14:48.960 --> 00:14:52.879 I guess that's my point. It's impressions of things. It's 256 00:14:53.000 --> 00:14:56.279 moods of I think it's very telling that the title 257 00:14:56.399 --> 00:15:01.039 is in the mood for love, which doesn't necessarily imply 258 00:15:01.200 --> 00:15:04.120 that there's actual love there. It just means you're in 259 00:15:04.200 --> 00:15:05.120 the mood for it. 260 00:15:05.559 --> 00:15:09.720 I think because everything is so secretive, and especially at 261 00:15:09.720 --> 00:15:12.000 that time, you can tell, you know, you couldn't share 262 00:15:12.080 --> 00:15:14.720 with the rest of the apartment building that you know, 263 00:15:15.000 --> 00:15:17.639 their spouses were having an affair. So they they found 264 00:15:17.679 --> 00:15:20.519 each other and it happened that they were, you know, 265 00:15:20.639 --> 00:15:23.000 in the same situation. And I think they they kind 266 00:15:23.000 --> 00:15:26.360 of share that. I do believe that they I think 267 00:15:26.360 --> 00:15:29.480 it started because I think their relationship because, like I said, 268 00:15:29.480 --> 00:15:33.240 they had something in common that they shared, and also 269 00:15:33.519 --> 00:15:35.679 they felt betrayed. I mean, you can tell that they're 270 00:15:35.799 --> 00:15:38.960 very hurt by by by what, you know, being cheated. 271 00:15:40.759 --> 00:15:43.240 So so they found each other and they had that 272 00:15:43.759 --> 00:15:46.759 to talk about and you know, uh and share because 273 00:15:46.799 --> 00:15:49.799 they couldn't share with anybody else. But at the same time, 274 00:15:49.840 --> 00:15:52.480 I think they were feeling in attraction to each other obviously, 275 00:15:52.519 --> 00:15:55.440 I mean it's clear, Uh you can you can see 276 00:15:55.480 --> 00:15:58.480 the tension, you know, you can feel the tension. So 277 00:15:59.000 --> 00:16:02.159 it's an it's interest. At the same time, they're trying 278 00:16:02.159 --> 00:16:05.799 to be mature about it, you know, rational about it. Right, 279 00:16:05.919 --> 00:16:07.279 It's conflicting. 280 00:16:07.440 --> 00:16:09.679 Yeah, all right, why don't we take a short break 281 00:16:09.679 --> 00:16:10.840 and when we come back, I want to talk a 282 00:16:10.879 --> 00:16:15.559 little bit about why did their spouses cheat on them? 283 00:16:16.039 --> 00:16:16.759 We'll be right back. 284 00:16:17.879 --> 00:16:20.759 We're back talking about in the Mood for Love and 285 00:16:20.799 --> 00:16:23.440 one of the things, you know, the thing we're trying 286 00:16:23.440 --> 00:16:25.679 to unpack the fact that the idea that this film 287 00:16:25.759 --> 00:16:30.120 is darker than it appears at first glance, and that. 288 00:16:30.159 --> 00:16:32.320 It's a sadder not necessarily you know. 289 00:16:32.360 --> 00:16:34.919 Well, no, I think there is a darkness there. I 290 00:16:35.320 --> 00:16:37.039 do think, and this is kind of what I wanted 291 00:16:37.039 --> 00:16:39.360 to unpack. It's not the idea that, you know, if 292 00:16:40.399 --> 00:16:42.440 someone cheats on a spouse, well then they must have 293 00:16:42.519 --> 00:16:44.919 done something to deserve it. But I mean, this is 294 00:16:44.960 --> 00:16:47.440 a film, this is a story, and things are put 295 00:16:47.440 --> 00:16:49.639 in the story that are you know, are there to 296 00:16:49.679 --> 00:16:54.480 be unpacked. So, and you pointed this out. They're so 297 00:16:54.639 --> 00:16:57.559 breathtakingly beautiful, it's a little hard to understand why anyone 298 00:16:57.600 --> 00:16:59.399 would cheat on them. And I do think it's an 299 00:16:59.440 --> 00:17:01.840 interesting always to not show the spouses. 300 00:17:02.080 --> 00:17:03.720 Oh my god, that was brilliant. 301 00:17:04.000 --> 00:17:06.480 But I do think it gets gimmicky at times because 302 00:17:06.599 --> 00:17:08.640 some of the scenes are staged in a way it's 303 00:17:08.640 --> 00:17:11.079 like you're working too hard to obscure a fire here. 304 00:17:12.680 --> 00:17:17.039 But I think it adds you want to know, like 305 00:17:17.079 --> 00:17:18.880 you want to know what does his wife look like 306 00:17:18.920 --> 00:17:21.960 that that's you know, or what does her husband look 307 00:17:22.039 --> 00:17:24.839 like that he would cheat on her? She's stunning, you know. 308 00:17:27.839 --> 00:17:30.039 And all you're left with is your imagination of, well, 309 00:17:30.119 --> 00:17:33.400 are they are these other people even more attractive than 310 00:17:33.400 --> 00:17:36.960 they are or did they come together for reasons other 311 00:17:37.039 --> 00:17:38.240 than simple attraction? 312 00:17:38.839 --> 00:17:40.640 And this is my point. 313 00:17:41.240 --> 00:17:45.599 Both of those characters, mister Chow and missus Chan, they 314 00:17:46.240 --> 00:17:49.960 they live at a remove from everybody around them. They 315 00:17:50.000 --> 00:17:53.359 are not warm with other people. He has his one 316 00:17:53.440 --> 00:17:56.720 friend that he that he takes care of. But she's 317 00:17:56.880 --> 00:17:59.359 very cold. She's very cold to her neighbors, she's very 318 00:17:59.359 --> 00:18:01.680 cold to her book. She's very removed. 319 00:18:01.680 --> 00:18:05.000 Never accept an invitation to to have a meal with him, no, 320 00:18:05.119 --> 00:18:08.480 you know, she always says no whatever. So she's that 321 00:18:08.559 --> 00:18:09.119 side of her. 322 00:18:09.200 --> 00:18:11.559 And then there is a very clearly a very darkly 323 00:18:11.599 --> 00:18:15.599 brooding side to him. So my takee and the other 324 00:18:15.599 --> 00:18:21.279 thing about her. I think is interesting is that there 325 00:18:21.319 --> 00:18:23.720 could have been a way to play this character as 326 00:18:24.200 --> 00:18:27.759 a lot more demure than she actually was. But uh, 327 00:18:28.240 --> 00:18:31.759 missus Chan comes off as fairly forceful in terms of 328 00:18:31.759 --> 00:18:32.359 her character. 329 00:18:32.440 --> 00:18:32.920 Fairies. 330 00:18:35.079 --> 00:18:36.880 I would never call her a bitch, like, That's not 331 00:18:36.960 --> 00:18:41.440 how she comes across in the film. But she's she's harsh. 332 00:18:41.759 --> 00:18:43.240 I think there's a harshness to her. 333 00:18:43.279 --> 00:18:45.599 I think she's asserted, you know, like, I mean, she's she's, 334 00:18:45.640 --> 00:18:49.559 she's she knows what she wants, she's I think she's yeah, 335 00:18:49.759 --> 00:18:51.599 and okay, yeah. 336 00:18:51.680 --> 00:18:54.440 So she has a sort of a sort of assertiveness 337 00:18:54.480 --> 00:18:56.160 to her, and he has a certain sort of dark, 338 00:18:56.200 --> 00:19:00.200 brooding aspect to him. Right, And I guess what I'm 339 00:19:00.200 --> 00:19:03.039 getting at here is when you look at unrequited love 340 00:19:03.240 --> 00:19:07.079 or love stories that don't pan out, which this one is, 341 00:19:08.880 --> 00:19:11.319 you kind of wonder, well, would it have worked if 342 00:19:11.319 --> 00:19:14.039 they had stayed, if they had made a go for it. 343 00:19:14.519 --> 00:19:18.119 And again, my previous two viewings of this film, I 344 00:19:18.119 --> 00:19:20.200 would have said, absolutely, it's a great love story. Look 345 00:19:20.200 --> 00:19:22.279 at them, They're amazing. But now I watch it and 346 00:19:22.279 --> 00:19:24.680 I think I don't know that that's what the film's 347 00:19:24.720 --> 00:19:28.279 trying to say. I don't know that these two people 348 00:19:28.319 --> 00:19:29.759 would have been any good with each. 349 00:19:29.559 --> 00:19:32.440 Other, right, but it's very clear to me that they're 350 00:19:32.519 --> 00:19:34.279 very hurt by. They were truer because when they do 351 00:19:34.319 --> 00:19:37.759 their little rehearsal, which threw me off completely, like the 352 00:19:37.799 --> 00:19:42.160 first scene when they're saying goodbye, that the scene is repeated. Yeah, 353 00:19:42.240 --> 00:19:43.960 I was like, what's going on my TV? 354 00:19:44.160 --> 00:19:44.319 Right? 355 00:19:44.400 --> 00:19:46.119 Right? I thought it was like, all right, they're showing 356 00:19:46.160 --> 00:19:48.240 the same thing. There's something wrong with my TV. But 357 00:19:48.279 --> 00:19:52.039 then I realized, now they're just rehearsing. And when she cries, 358 00:19:52.240 --> 00:19:56.200 I think that she obviously is very hurt by her husband, 359 00:19:56.400 --> 00:19:57.200 be true, you know. 360 00:19:57.200 --> 00:19:59.279 Isn't it interesting how she never has these emotions in 361 00:19:59.279 --> 00:20:02.079 front of other people, though she cries when she's alone 362 00:20:02.200 --> 00:20:05.640 because or with him. Because that's true, she did cry 363 00:20:05.720 --> 00:20:09.400 with him. That's because they share something. They share something, 364 00:20:09.480 --> 00:20:10.319 they share the. 365 00:20:10.200 --> 00:20:14.400 Same emotions, and and so I think that's incredible. I 366 00:20:14.400 --> 00:20:17.559 think that's why they're together. They they kind of like, 367 00:20:17.680 --> 00:20:20.720 you know, found each other because and. 368 00:20:20.720 --> 00:20:22.640 So do you think they could have been happy together? 369 00:20:22.680 --> 00:20:24.440 Because that's not the part I that's the part I 370 00:20:24.519 --> 00:20:25.039 struggle with. 371 00:20:25.119 --> 00:20:27.200 It's hard to tell. It's hard to tell, but I 372 00:20:27.240 --> 00:20:31.680 do think they they they they Yeah, they think about it, 373 00:20:31.880 --> 00:20:34.359 they think about being together. I mean that's clear. Uh 374 00:20:34.480 --> 00:20:39.039 and and yeah it's And I love how the film, 375 00:20:39.279 --> 00:20:43.160 the film kind of like betrays you because when she says, 376 00:20:43.240 --> 00:20:45.680 when when they have that scene where she's he says, 377 00:20:47.319 --> 00:20:50.400 I didn't think you, you know, I didn't think you're 378 00:20:50.400 --> 00:20:51.960 gonna fall in love with me or whatever. I thought 379 00:20:51.960 --> 00:20:54.359 it was about them, and then then you find out 380 00:20:54.359 --> 00:20:58.200 it's just And that's when you get like, Okay, this 381 00:20:58.279 --> 00:20:59.359 is fucked up. What you two. 382 00:20:59.799 --> 00:21:03.359 What they're doing is not healthy for them emotionally. And 383 00:21:03.440 --> 00:21:05.599 I guess that's what I'm getting at most here. It's 384 00:21:05.680 --> 00:21:07.599 not like any therapist would have looked at that and 385 00:21:07.680 --> 00:21:10.559 said you need to stop doing that. It's bad for you. 386 00:21:10.759 --> 00:21:14.039 But I understand why they did it. 387 00:21:14.039 --> 00:21:15.119 It's a very human thing. 388 00:21:15.279 --> 00:21:18.720 I think it's yeah, it's it's yeah, you you wanna 389 00:21:20.200 --> 00:21:22.920 It's not that you. Because even if you don't practice 390 00:21:23.000 --> 00:21:25.200 in reality in life, if you if you know, if 391 00:21:25.200 --> 00:21:28.559 you have a spouse and you going through that situation, 392 00:21:29.119 --> 00:21:31.240 you might not rehearse it, but you think about it 393 00:21:31.279 --> 00:21:32.160 in your head all the time. 394 00:21:32.279 --> 00:21:34.680 Sure you're playing it over and over again, and they're 395 00:21:34.799 --> 00:21:36.519 just playing it out exactly. 396 00:21:36.759 --> 00:21:39.519 So I thought it was fantastic. Actually, I was like, wow, 397 00:21:39.599 --> 00:21:44.000 this is really interesting. Not healthy, probably, but interesting. 398 00:21:44.079 --> 00:21:46.519 So at the end of the film, she is renting 399 00:21:46.720 --> 00:21:52.880 the apartment landlady had uh and she has a child. 400 00:21:53.119 --> 00:21:54.799 Yeah, we don't know who the father is. 401 00:21:54.880 --> 00:21:59.359