In the Mood for Love

Splintered time, fragments of loneliness. Hong Kong 1962: Two married couples move into neighboring apartments on the same day. In a series of individual vignettes of varying length arranged chronologically, a delicate bond develops between two of them (magnificent: Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung) after they realize that their respective spouses are having an affair with each other. Repetitions and variations, time stretches and jump cuts, ellipses and leaps accompany the touching story of a love story that fails because of unacknowledged feelings and social conventions. (mg)