i think that new york time film critic elvis mitchell write the best one line review of in the mood for love when he say that it be dizzy with a romantic spirit that be miss from the cinema forever . how true those word be . truly romantic film be so rare these day and while film that include plenty of sex and nudity ( which be often portray in a smutty and gratuitous manner ) abound . so and give this cinematic climate and wong kar wai late film feel like a much need breath of fresh air . in the mood for love be about the doomed romance between two neighbor ( mr. chow and play by tony leung and mrs. chan and play by maggie cheung ) and whose spouse be have an illicit affair and a they try not to be like them . but after hang out with each other on lonely night ( while their spouse be away on business or take care of a sick mother ) and they fall madly in love and and must resist the temptation of go too far . several factor be responsible for make in the mood for love a new classic among romantic melodrama and in the best sense of that term . first and the specific period of the film ( i. e. 1960 hong kong ) be faithfully recreate to an astonishing degree of detail . the clothes ( include maggie cheung lovely dress ) and the music ( e. g. nat king cole ) and and the overall atmosphere of this film evoke a nostalgia for that specific period . second and christopher doyle award winning and breathtakingly beautiful cinematography create an environment which not only envelop it two main character and but seem to ooze with romantic longing in every one of it sumptuous and meticulously compose frame . make no mistake about it represent in the mood for love be the most gorgeous film of 2001 . ( it should also be mention that wong kar wai usual hyper kinetic visual style be ( understandably ) tone down for this film and although his pallet remain just a colorful . ) third and there be the haunt score by michael galasso and which be accompany by slow motion sequence of and e. g. chan walk in her elegant dress and chan and chow glancing at each other a they pass one another on the stair and and other beautiful scene which etch themselves into one memory . the main score which make it instrument sound a though theyre literally cry be hear eight time throughout various point in the film and it serve to highlight the sadness and the longing which the two main character feel . fourth and tony leung and maggie cheung both deliver wonderful performance ( leung win the prize for best actor at cannes ) and they manage to generate real chemistry on screen . the above element coalesce and work so nicely together to create a film that feel timeless and dizzyingly romantic and and and in a word and magical . in the mood for love and perhaps more than any other film of 2001 and remind me why it be that i love go to the movie . and i guess that be about the high compliment that i can pay to a film .