In the Mood for Love/花樣年華/faa1joeng6 nin4waa4/huāyàng niánhuá (2000) - Kar-Wai's delectable home run

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The film's photogenic couple are lounged across this deep red colored poster for Wong Kar-Wai's In the Mood for Love

A man and a woman, both unhappily married to spouses who are abroad, work together at the same office and fall in love with each other but withstand the temptation.

In the Mood for Love is written and directed by Chinese master filmmaker Wong Kar-Wai (As Tears Go By/Wong Gok ka moon (1988)), whose 7th feature it is. The original Chinese title, which is the title of a pop song used in the film, translates to 'the age of blossoms'.
It is a sublime film about desire and unresolved love. It is erotic, compelling and beautiful.
The tone and imagery, (cinematography by Christopher Doyle (Beijing, New York (2015)), Pung-Leung Kwan (Hold You Tight/Yue kuai le, yue duo luo (1998)) and Ping Bin Lee (The Queens/Wo shi nv wang (2015))), are second to none.

Related posts:

Wong Kar-Wai: The 2000s in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess

My Blueberry Nights (2007) - A slice too cute
2046 (2004) - Kar-Wai's visually resplendent, empty hull of a movie 
Chungking Express/重慶森林 (1994) - Kar-Wai's urban love drama is a visual treat

Watch a trailer for the film here 

Cost: Unknown
Box office: Reportedly 12.8 mil. $
= Uncertain
[In the Mood for Love premiered 20 May (Cannes Film Festival, in competition) and runs 98 minutes. Shooting reportedly took (outrageously long) 15 months in Thailand, Cambodia, Hong Kong and China. Cinematographer Doyle had to exit production, as it went over-schedule. The film opened #41 to a 113k $ first weekend in 6 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #27 and in 74 theaters (different weeks), grossing 2.7 mil. $ (21.1 % of the total gross). The film made 8.6 mil. HK$ in Hong Kong, approximately 1.1 mil. $ (8.6 %). The specifics as to the other major markets that made up the 12.8 mil. $ listed gross are not revealed online. The film was nominated for a BAFTA, won 2 awards at Cannes, a César award, was nominated for a David di Donatello award and won a European Film award, among other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 3/4 star review, translating to 2 notches harder than this one. IMDb's users have rated the film in at #239 on the site's Top 250 list, sitting between Before Sunset (2004) and Paris, Texas (1984). Kar-Wai returned with 6 shorts before his theatrical return with 2046 (2004). Tony Leung (Timeless Romance/Chiu si hung yiu oi (1998)) returned in Healing Hearts/Hap gwat yan sam (2000); Maggie Cheung (Twin Dragons/Seong lung wui (1992)) in Le Bel Hiver (2000, short) and theatrically in Hero/Ying xiong (2002). In the Mood for Love is certified fresh at 90 % with a 7.84/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of In the Mood for Love?

Norwegian Wood/ノルウェイの森 (Noruwei no mori) (2010) - Hung's delicate adaptation of grand emotions youth drama in 1960s Japan

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+ Best Japanese Movie of the Year

 

An intimate, lovely poster for Tran Anh Hung's Norwegian Wood

 

Young Japanese male Hizaki commits suicide. His girlfriend and best friend sleeps together, but she later becomes unstable and moves into a home in the mountains, while he balances their capricious relation with the temptations of living in Tokyo.

Norwegian Wood is an adaptation of Haruki Murakami's (Sputnik Sweetheart/Supūtoniku no koibito (1999)) same-titled 1987 novel  by great Vietnamese writer-director Tran Anh Hung (The Scent of Green Papaya/Mùi du du xanh (1993)). It is an utmost delicate, youthful film of grand emotions set in a vividly beautiful Japan in the 1960s: Especially natural scenery are utilized to great effect throughout the film, which has spectacular cinematography by Ping Bin Lee (The Rooftop/Tian tai ai qing (2013)). 

The film is long but so immersive and filled with sexually piquant scenes as well as fine moments that convey loneliness other intimate feelings, as if taking a bite of a ripe fruit of youth. The Japanese specialty for overwrought feelings and behavior, (and, surely connected to that, a striking absence of humor), is strongly portrayed here; the film may even go as far as to go along to a small degree in the local custom of romanticizing suicide. In any case Norwegian Wood is a fabulous, wonderful film.

 

Related posts:

 

Tran Anh Hung:  2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]

2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]

 2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess

The Scent of Green Papaya/Mùi đu đủ Xanh/L'Odeur de la Papaye Verte (1993) - Hung's debut is pure visual poetry

 

Watch an official trailer for the film here

Cost: Unknown
Box office: 19.1 mil. $
= Unknown
[Norwegian Wood premiered September 2 (Venice International Film Festival) and runs 133 minutes. It took Hung 4 years of talks with Murakami, before the famous author approved the adaptation in 2008. Filming took place in Japan in October 2008, February 2009 and from June - July 2009. The film opened #56 in just 3 theaters to a 13k $ first weekend in North America, where it never went out wider and got pulled out of distribution after those just 3 days. The film made the vast majority of its gross in its native Japan: 16.3 mil. $ (85.3 %). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 550k $ (2.9 %) and Spain with 383k $ (2 %). Without knowing the film's budget, it is impossible to know if its gross makes it a theatrical hit. The film was nominated for 3 awards at the Asian Film Awards, winning for Best Cinematography (Ping Bin Lee (The Assassin/Nie yin niang (2015)). Norwegian Wood is certified fresh at 74 % with a 6.5 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Norwegian Wood?