Film 50: History of Cinema, In the Mood for Love

The UC Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive present Wong Kar-wai's "In the Mood for Love" as part of its film-lecture course, Film 50.

Lectures/Emily Carpenter
Emily Carpenter is a lecturer in the Department of Film and Media at UC Berkeley

BAM/PFA and the UC Berkeley Department of Film and Media copresent the film-lecture course Film 50, now celebrating its twenty-second year. This year’s course, taught by Emily Carpenter, showcases an exciting lineup of world cinema classics, globetrotting between continents and featuring strong examples from various film movements and historical periods. The selection also draws upon the strengths of the BAM/PFA film collection and our ability to present the film experience faithfully, with a high standard of technical presentation. Enjoy the communal experience of viewing while learning how to understand the complex medium of film.

(Fa yeung nin wa). Supposedly the most universally acclaimed film of the twenty-first century, Wong Kar-wai’s In the Mood for Love seems like it has been around for decades; even when it debuted in 2000, however, the film—set in the early 1960s—already seemed timeless. “This film is not verbal,” said Wong about the way it effortlessly captures an essence of romance and melancholy, as showcased in the lives of two neighbors (Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung Chiu-wai) who are “in the mood for love,” yet too proper to act on it. “Everything is expressed through the body, through the people, how they walk, how they move.”
—Jason Sanders

Written by Wong. Photographed by Christopher Doyle, Mark Lee Ping Bin. With Maggie Cheung, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Siu Ping Lam, Rebecca Pan. (98 mins, In Cantonese with English subtitles, Color, 35mm, From TIFF Cinematheque, permission Swank)