Fleeting, Subtlety, Yearning…Lasting.

“花样年华是指少年男女二十岁左右青春焕发的岁月.”

In The Mood For Love by Wong Kar-wai (2000) takes on a Chinese idiom for the movie title, to which I found it quite thought intriguing. The definition of the phrase 花样年华 is not easy to define, as it represents a very ephemeral concept – mainly used to describe the years in one’s youth, alike to blossoming flowers, pretty, yet not everlasting. For the movie, I would describe it in these four words – fleeting, subtlety, yearning and lasting.


The film offers a lush threat to the eyes and ears. Cleverly photographed by award winning cinematographer Mark Pin Bing Lee, the characters are always in spaces that are not well lighted, their time spent together is slow and ethereal, it is just like their relationship, delicately and unhurriedly growing in the dark. Time flies when the story is not on Chow and So, but time seems to crawl when it is just only the two of them.

The saturated colours used add a vintage charm to the old Hong Kong, despite the crammed spaces and dilapidated environments, along with the thoughtful wardrobe the characters don in the movie, the movie manages to transport the audience back to a time when Hong Kong was undergoing a period of changes – societal (more women were working), culture influences (the Western influences along with Chinese traditions), family and relationships (people were conscious about a man and a woman spending time alone albeit the society opening up).

The protagonists’ yearning towards each other is very subtle, from their polite conversations and glances that hold back so much emotions. Their minimal display of affections reflect this point too – the holding of hands and So gently resting her head on Chow’s shoulder in the taxis. Their feelings towards each other exist, yet suppression of emotions is in place as they had to be mindful of the people around them.

Time flies, moments fleet by, people change, but I believe feelings and memories last. The act of Chow whispering into a hollow in a ruined wall in Siem Reap, to me, is how he preserves his memory of the relationship and times he shared with So. It is a secret, but it lasts, just like how the ancient Angkor Wat transcends the passing of time.

I found these few Mandarin lines online discussing about the movie, and I shall end off this entry with it (along with my translations of these lines): 王家卫这部电影的成功之处在于，它告诉大家 - 花样年华不光是指年纪在二十多岁时，年纪大了照样能有激动人心的爱情，即照样有“花一样的年华”。简单点说，就是一段爱情，得不到爱情的爱情，其中有爱，有享受，有期待，还有点怀念往昔的味道，干净、华丽、苍凉。

“The success of this movie is Wong Kar-Wai telling the audience that ephemeral youth and love does not only apply to people in their youths, but it also happens to people of an older age – their love can blossom as beautifully as blooming flowers. To put it simply, it’s a love relationship that did not get its share of love. In it, there is love, there is enjoyment, there is anticipation, and there is also a sense of nostalgic…clean, grand, yet also desolate.”

References:
In The Mood For Love
In the Mood for Love (Expanded Criterion DVD Review)
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking reels
In The Mood For Love – Love HK Film . Com
Essay on ‘In the Mood for Love’