In The Mood For Love Film Analysis

Wong Kar-wai is a prolific director, most known for his critically acclaimed, In the Mood for Love. The story follows two people as they try to comprehend the news of their spouses cheating on them. A pivotal part of the way Kar-wai tells their story and the stories in his other films is through the technique of framing. Filmsite describes framing as “the way a shot is composed, and the manner in which subjects and objects are surrounded ('framed') by the boundaries or perimeter of the film image, or by the use of a rectangle or enclosing shape (such as a shadow, mirror, door or hallway) within the film image.” Kar-wai uses framing in his films to enhance the visual and narrative aspects in order to strengthen his storytelling, specifically In The Mood for Love with the interaction …show more content…
Chow and Mrs. Chan never fully realize their budding romance for one another because of the possible community gossip and the inclination to not be like their spouses. Moreover, Mrs. Chan in the very next scene brushes into Mr. Chow’s wife on the staircase. The staircase is framed between two walls. The camera is sitting at an subtle upward angle, tilted up. Within in the constricted space, we see how the two characters make use of it, adding to the visual differences between the two. Mr. Chow’s wife bounces up the stairs. Her hair style is a flared up at the ends before her shoulders, in contrast to what can be assumed as the typical hairstyle of the time: Mrs. Chan and her neighbour’s structured, rounded cut. Mr. Chow’s wife where’s a solid red dress with an open back. This scene depicts the obvious contrasts between the two women. Mrs. Chan as opposed to Mrs. Chow 1960’s hong kong style, wears high-collared patterned qipoas, the hairstyle, and even the way she descends the stairs when passing Mrs. Chow is slow and cautious. In the mood for love takes place in 1960’s