it easy to see why many people consider in the mood for love to be wong kar wai best film . the toned down appeal of the film and center on the studied view of a relationship put through an emotional ringer and be a retread into happy together territory but without the hyper kinetic patchwork of jar film stock and hyper saturate sequence that have become a trademark of kar wai film since chungking express . like soderbergh the limey and this be a different kind of curio for kar wai while where dialogue and plot be forsake by mood and composition in order to create a tale of two delicate life in a seemingly confining emotional stasis . it a testament to the genius of kar wai that he be capable to make such a simple tale so resonate . chow mo wan ( tony leung ) and su li zhen ( maggie cheung ) move in next door to each other within the same apartment building . he a journalist who dream of publish martial art novel and she be a secretary at a shipping company . their eventual coupling be obvious from the beginning but the pleasure here be the way that kar wai ambiguously paint such a journey with his grand masterstroke . the key to the success of the film be kar wai use of the interior space and play with foreground and background plane in way that be similar to the work of polanski . during the wooingly sensuous first half of the film and kar wai isolates leung and cheung within shot in such a way that the second person in a conversation be never visible . kar wai be concern with environment and space here and create a cramped emotional dynamic between his character . it also tell that kar wai never choose to focus on the physicality of mo wan and li zhen spouse . their faceless partner be noticeably absent from the film and a they be tend to their own love affair with each other . this be not to suggest that in the mood for love be a confine experience because kar wai manage to inundate his film with broad splash of hypnotic camera movement and sound . there be one shot where cheung slow and sensual rise up a metaphorical stairway turn into leung descent down the very same stairwell while their movement perfectly compliment each other and bookending the shot and create a sense of erotic duality between the two figure . their soul have connect but they have yet to physically unite . the erotic displacement of these scene be both fascinating and frustrating and a two star cross lover reject physical consummation due to their humble fidelity . other scene in the film be punctuate with brief slow motion shot of cheung erotically move through her interior surroundings and set to mike galasso hauntingly beautiful score . cheung dress beautifully compliment her exterior space a she move slowly through her surroundings . her movement slowly build up to what seem to be an inevitable fusion between li szhen and her dream lover even though the seduction process seem to be entirely sub conscious . if i make it seem that these two character be more like two bird unleash pheromone on each other and it probably isn not that far fetch of a statement . the tight bond these two character have with their internal space be almost as intense a their relationship to the exterior . the film rarely move into an exterior space and when the camera do it be usually to peak through oval window and symbolic bar that always remind u that these character be like confined animal . kar wai continue to tease u even when the lover get close enough to touch and shatter the couple proximity to each other by shoot them through mirror or through gap within article of clothing locate inside of a closet . mother nature even seem to respond to their love lust and often unleash a soft crest of rain over the character after their body have glide near each other . kar wai hauntingly atmospheric shot of a waterfall allow leung lai yu fai to experience a cathartic release in happy together and even if leslie cheung ho po wing be not there to enjoy it with him . by that film end and love be so inextricably bound to the act of war that a third man mute declaration of love signal yu fai realization that his dream of see a waterfall would bring him inner peace and even if it would not bring him back his lover . mo wan journey terminates within the confines of a crumble temple . his own emotional depletion be parallel nicely with the political climate of his country and and the absence of li szhen be only make tolerable by the fact that kar wai allows mo wan to experience a release of sort . mo wan caters to an ancient myth and his secretive release into a crack in the temple leave him capable of live his day with the hope that all his loss and heartache somehow serve a high purpose .