Movie Review - In the Mood for Love

-

This movie review will discuss about a Hong Kong movie which is called In the Mood for Love. The genre of this movie is romantic and they used french impressionist movement for the movie.

Theory Discussion

French impressionist is the art that show in 19th century. The characteristics of this theory is they can show that the character's consciousness, concerns mental states, dreams or fantasies. For example, the french film, El Dorado (1921).This film is talk about a woman who work in El Dorado just ensure that she enough money to take care her sick child. Showing flashback scenes or memories was also one of the characteristics of this theory such as the movie named memento. It is because this movie have the flashback scenes in the beginning of this film and it also change the plot time. 

Moreover, the next characteristic is the uses of irises, superimpositions, masks to indicate characters' thoughts and feelings such as daydreaming in the movie called Sucker Punch  (2011) as the main character is always daydreaming about the fight scene like the samurai fight scene. Next, visuals are distorted cam movement to show that scene is dizzy or drunkenness. For instance, in the movie Star Trek: First Contact, there is a scene that the counselor Troi is getting drunk because of drinking many and become drunk.(Jacob Bryant, 2017) Furthermore, one of the characteristics in french impressionist is the point of view editing, rhythmic editing to show character's experience of particular situations, we can also show that the man was looking at the girl. For example, in this Hong Kong film In the Mood for Love (2000), there is many scenes that show the man or the woman is looking each other. It shows that they always thinks and missing each other. On top of that, the important of the characteristic is the camera movements is must be smooth, brought about by frame mobility, we can also say that the camera is tied to cars, wheels, bobsleds, cables and others. For instance, the same movie as i mentioned before which is In the Mood for Love, there is a scene that they are having dinner in a restaurant. The camera movements is smoothly from left to right which is from the man to the woman, not like movie nowadays are just cut and cut to the other scene. 

French Impressionism is also have its disadvantage. It triggered off due to lack of interests by mass, rising production. When there is new things to shoot, it will need more budget to afford it.


Synopsis

Chow Mo-wan who is a journalist that he rents a room in an apartment and Su Li-Zhen who is a secretary in a shipping company. They become next-door neighbours. Each of them have their spouse but they leave them on overtime shift. Everyday their life is going to be like this. Every time when they see each other, they have the feeling on each other. Their relationship is non-sexual and they just want for the love. One day, Chow need to go to Singapore for his work and want to wait her but she late to join him after she rush down to the room. The next year Su have visited his apartment but remains silent. After next three years, their landlord have emigrated to different countries and they leave each other. The scene ends with the Angkor Watt in Cambodia.

Analysis

This film setting is set 60's in Hong Kong, Singapore and Cambodia. It also show the historical scene which is at the world war 2 scene. The makeup and costume in this film is follow the french style and 60's makeup style which is thick makeup. The costumes are the western style but for the girls is from the traditional Chinese cloths. Most of the lighting is from the bottom in order to show the romance in this film. Their behaviour is mystery but attractive people. Their movement is slow and comfortable and it match the style in the 60's

Conclusion

We can know french impressionism is very important element in the romantic. It is because the style that can show us what is reality in this world and nowadays many movies have use the components in the french impressionism in the beginning of the movie. Although this movie is not a good movie and not bad movie, it has show the complicating in this movie and it needs to watch a lot of times to understand this movie. 



Reference
Wikipedia (2000) In the Mood for Love. Retrieved from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Mood_for_Love

Letterboxd (2018) El Dorado. Retrieved from
https://letterboxd.com/film/el-dorado-1921/

Jacob Bryant (2017) 28 best drunk scenes in films. Retrieved from
https://variety.com/2017/film/news/best-drunk-scenes-movies-1202010958/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

But I'm a Cheerleader (Queer Theory)

-
Today, in this movie review I will discuss a romantic comedy film named But I'm a Cheerleader. This is because this film have give us a homosexual feelings when we watch this film. The theory that they use in this film Queer theory. Theory Discussion Queer theory is an approach to literary and cultural study that rejects traditional categories of gender and sexuality, it proposed by Feminist Theory. It can be a critical response to the numerous discourse surrounding AIDS and homosexuality. There are some approaches in Queer theory which includes the audience reception. Many films are open with the homosexuals characters in a narrative film. Other looks or visual exchanges between the participants is mediated on a "narrative" visual discourse in which the look of of the subject. The next approaches is the actors or actress have captured by the straight audiences but sometimes they also captured by the non-straight audiences. It examines queer work. making and writin...
Read more

Corpse Bride (German Expressionism)

-
In this movie review I would like to discuss about the animation movie named Corpse Bride. This movie is directed by Mike Johnson and Tim Burton. The theory that they use is about German Expressionism. This theory that have been used in nowadays life. German expressionism has the themes that included revolt, self-analysis, madness and primitive, sexual savagery. This theory had start in within first world war which is in year 1919 to 1926. It started from the paiting and change to film productions and it also spread into the cinema in narrative and mise-en-scene. For example, the film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari which is which also using the German Expressionist theory. This film had showed us the fantastic, nightmarish sets with twisted structures and landscapes with sharp-pointed forms and oblique, curving lines. This theory also spread around Germany and Northern European states. The Expressionist movement today is considered as one of the artistic movement. Synopsis This...
Read more

Movie Review - Bicycle Thieves (Italian Neorealism)

-
Image
In this movie review, I would like to fall backward to the old times, old movie which is the Italian movie named Ladri di biciclette. In the English name is Bicycle Thieves. This movie have used the Italian neo-realism method to produce this movie. Theory Discussion What is Italian Neo-realism? Well, for the neo-realism is known as the low budget movie and always have the negative thoughts. Therefore, there are many bad habit or things happens in the movie. Cesare Zavattini was the founder of the Italian Neo-realism. The form the Italian cinema is using real people and locations that established with social reality. For example, Zavattini can form the plots as the fake structure of everyday life.  Italian Neorealism has contains a lot of characteristics such as they used grainy film stock in order to giving it its newsreel look. That was the new era after the silent film era. Next, they mostly shot on-location. For example, Antonio's neighbourhood and the visit of the ...
Read more