#Chow Mo wan

[aliensamba]

It is a restless moment.

[admireforever]

In the Mood for Love

[escapismthroughfilm]

⋆˚｡⋆. ˚In the Mood for Love (2000) dir. Wong Kar Wai⋆˚｡⋆.⋆

[comicaloverachiever]

Don’t cry. This isn’t real.

In the Mood for Love / 花樣年華 (2000) dir. Wong Kar-wai

[filmsandtextinmotion]

Pretty much sums up what In the Mood for Love is all about!!!

In the Mood for Love (2000)

[soranatus]

In the Mood for Love By Steph C, an illustrator & visual development artist

[filmsandtextinmotion]

YES!! Those cheongsams were next level 🔥❤️‍🔥💃🏻

ideal wardrobe: literally everything su li-zhen has ever worn 

[artfilmaesthetics]

my favorite fashion in film ౨ৎ

III. In the Mood for Love (2000) dir. Wong Kar-wai

Maggie Cheung as Su Li-zhen

Tony Leung Chiu-wai as Chow Mo-Wan

✶ Costume Designer: William Chang Suk-Ping

[likethedivinefemenine]

Chow Mo-wan: In the old days, if someone had a secret they didn't want to share... you know what they did?

Ah Ping: Have no idea.

Chow Mo-wan: They went up a mountain, found a tree, carved a hole in it, and whispered the secret into the hole. Then they covered it with mud. And leave the secret there forever.

[llostwriter]

The Husky And The White Cat Shizun With Their Baobei

Chapter 10

Warning: Mention of erotic drawings.

Red Lotus Pavilion. Some would refer to it as Red Lotus Hell. The more practical moniker for it is Broken Leg Waterside Pavilion. But with the widespread claim that "those who had come out either had their arms or legs broken," the tales were definitely exaggerated. In addition to ignoring the accusations, you also never really cared to put an end to them. Although Shizun's punishment was occasionally severe, you are aware that it was done with the best of intentions. Chu Wanning and you are the only people in this world who truly understand his ideals and values. How come, after so those trips, your arms and legs haven't broken out if the claims are actually true?

You were the only disciple eager to go to Chu Wanning every day out of all the others. Chu Wanning didn't seem to mind your presence as time went on. You didn't mind taking on extra chores like housecleaning and occasionally even Chu Wanning's laundry. The laundry portion indicated that things were becoming better in your relationship. It indicates, after all, that he confides in you with his small personal items. For the first few trips, all you do is tidy the space and observe attentively from a distance as Chu Wanning creates 'Merch' out of the disorganized heap of metal bits.

You turned back to look at the bed. On top of the bed there used to be a collection of tools, saws, axes, files, and so on, all of which shined coldly and were unbelievably sharp. Everything was on the floor the next time you saw those tools. Shizun seems to have actually paid attention to what you had said. Naturally, scattering everything on the floor won't work either, so you had to locate a variety of empty boxes to hold the belongings. Sorting every thing into its own category rather than just piling them one on top of the other at random.

Your efforts have made Shizun's room appear more organized. Aside from the still disorganized heap of metal components, since Shizun would require it. It will take a while to sort through those metal components, but Shizun seems to be content with the disorganized mess. A sound shattered the rather serene atmosphere: "Disciple Mo Ran greets Master."

—-

The large numbers of individuals entering and leaving Meng Po Lobby. You entered Meng Po Lobby with Shizun by your side, took a lacquered wooden tray filled with a few dishes, and sat in a corner in silence. "You don't have to sit next to me against your will. You ought to associate with people on your own level." Shizun would occasionally asked you this out of nature. Still, your response will always remained succinct and straightforward: "I just want to spend more time with my Shizun." That would have been the regular course of events if Mo Ran hadn't joined in.

It didn't take a fool to figure out that Mo Ran is purposefully annoying Chu Wanning by loudly smacking his lips while chowing down on the sour and sweet pork. The two's arguments became more and more audible. Already, a few disciples were glancing at them. As you were only a bystander to their argument, it was difficult for you too. The only thing you could do was to kick Mo Ran in the shin as a warning from under the table. Mo Ran finally calmed down and huffed in annoyance.

Chu Wanning's appetite had vanished, though. Getting up, he declared, "I'm full." He was obviously not full because it is impossible for someone to be satisfied after eating so little. Mo Ran was undeserving of Chu Wanning’s state of starvation. Raising yourself from your chair, you intended to go with Chu Wanning. You were about to move when Mo Ran suddenly grabbed your wrist and said, "You didn't even finish with your own food, finish it before you leave." Mo Ran touched you voluntarily for the first time in a long time with this. Has he finally forgiven you? Chu Wanning was standing there, seemingly waiting for you to decide between Mo Ran and him. You retreated from Mo Ran's hold and dutifully trailed Chu Wanning.

Seeing that Mo Ran is all alone, Mo Ran decided to stop eating and follow as well.

—-

The three of you were standing in front of the library of Red Lotus Pavilion. When Chu Wanning instructed Mo Ran to register all those books after wiping them, he thought he had misheard. Mo Ran stared at the fifty rows of ten high bookcases. The deadline is early tomorrow morning. Chu Wanning usually gave you a deadline that was longer than this one. Perhaps you said those words out of sympathy: "Shizun, I'll stay to make sure that Mo Ran will follow your instructions."

It was easy. Mo Ran faces consequences if he disobeys his orders. You didn't need to become involved at all.

Chu Wanning is aware of that. Chu Wanning is also aware that you have to have a good reason before bringing it up, yet the bitter feeling persists. "If that’s what you wish for, then do it." And with that, he was gone.

The rows of worn books and Mo Ran were all by yourself. You saw Mo Ran glaring at Chu Wanning, the passing figure, as though that would make things better. In order to perform a powerful spell that would enable you to quickly and efficiently clean all the books at once, you intended to take out Xian'ye, your holy fan. Your spiritual power mostly comes from Xian'ye; without it, you could only perform very minor spells. You rarely utilize the medium skills without your holy weapon since they use nearly all of your physical spiritual power. It will take too long for little spells to clear everything.

Until you remembered that in this room, Chu Wanning would be able to sense your spells. Thus, you ultimately abandoned that notion. "Shixiong," Mo Ran's pathetic voice said. You responded with a hum.

Mo Ran: “I have an appointment with Shi Mei, so I was hoping that you can…”

You nearly felt like scoffing as you turned down his request. "Shidi, it would only take a few seconds for Shizun to find out if you left this place." Mo Ran groaned in disappointment, but then he got an idea and a grin appeared on his lips. He selected a couple of recently published books and a bamboo charcoal pencil that was lying in the vicinity, then he started sketching in the book. You can tell by his expression that it wasn't anything good.

You: "You are aware that writing and drawing are not permitted on those books, Shidi."

Mo Ran continued to draw in spite of that statement.

Mo Ran: "Yes, but how would Shizun know about it? Shizun is not capable of reading every book because there are so many of them.”

To get a better look at the drawing, you leaned in closer. Catching a peek of the seductively detailed designs. The illustration of two men around one another while having sex and sharing a tongue kiss. He even has the gall to record the conversations, leaving one of the men seeming meek and pleading for the other to push harder. Additionally, he portrayed a man performing the mating press on a woman as the drawn dick was pressing firmly inside of her and included intricately drawn body fluid on the portion of the dick that wasn't quite in. There were so many sultry drawings that you didn't even want to look at them closely.

Your flush was beginning to show on you already.

Mo Ran: "You know what? Is Shixiong aware that these types of things exist? Which position among these is Shixiong's favorite?”

Although you are aware that Mo Ran is deliberately unsettling you, you can't deny that it was effective.

"There's someone getting close." You heard Xian'ye's voice in your head. Since you needed to take your mind off those sensual paintings, you expressed your gratitude in silence. Shi Mei arrived and saw Mo Ran acting irrationally.

Shi Mei: "What are you doing, Mo Ran? Why are you here, Shidi y/n?”

Hopefully, Shi Mei doesn't misinterpret the situation by believing that you were involved in Mo Ran's scheme to illustrate pornographic material for the publications. Mo Ran is in disbelief—he never even imagined Shi Mei would be here. He sat up instantly and quickly covered the explicit drawings. He seemed to be pretending to be innocent and remarked, "Wiping the floor, nothing."

That was the silliest excuse you have ever heard. "Wiping the floor using your clothes?" Shi Mei asked, holding back his amusement as he quickly saw right through that.

You uttered the words "Shixiong Shi Mei, you should be asleep by now. It's getting close to midnight.” before Mo Ran could even reply.

Shi Mei: "Don't worry, I heard from a disciple that you two are over here. And I have nothing to do. So I went to have a look.”

[When he saw that you had chosen him over his disciple, he smiled a little, but it vanished when he saw both you and Mo Ran approaching him]

[aliensamba]

Su Li-zhen Chan: I didn't think you'd fall in love with me. Chow Mo-wan: I didn't either. I was only curious to know how it started.

[admireforever]

In the Mood for Love

[aydascomprehendsubtext]

The thing about Mrs. Chow is that in the original film Mrs. Chen is taking the brunt of a deeply unfair societal double standard around infidelity and it sucks for her so bad. Imagine your husband is cheating on you and your boss is cheating on his wife and it's your job to lie to his wife FOR HIM and you still can't fuck anybody. And it's like. Clear that in the original film Mr Chow kinda knows this and is trying his best to be kind and generous even as he begins to realize she's never gonna get herself out of the saw trap of What Will People Think. Which sucks for him because losing the opportunity for the love of your life or w/e but it's kinda not about him at the end of the day. She is our Tortured Tragic Protagonist

BUT if Mrs. Chow Mo-wan is confidently but gently pursuing a skittish and restrained Mrs. Chen who is now flinching away from yeah cheating frowned upon but also implicitly the publicly committing to a trans woman of it all in 1980s hong kong. Well then that's a little less sympathetic isn't it. It makes her passiveness much more of a bitingly cruel character flaw (complimentary). And it gives our Mrs. Chow the horrible burden of being kind and generous to someone you love even as they hurt you because you understand why. Again much worse torture I'm so sorry queen. But also deeply compelling to me, person who thinks it rules when characters Nobly Suffer

[thenarddogmeister]

In The Mood For Love. Dir Wong Kar-wai. (2000)

I will rewatch this film in the unforeseeable future. This is because I can tell it is a masterpiece - the cinematography, the lighting, the performances and the dialogue all reach into deep part of me but I think I’m am still too young to fully understand how the characters felt.

I loved the use of framing throughout the film. Weirdly enough it reminded me of The Bear (2022) in the way objects always seemed to obstruct the characters in frame and make us feel as though we are intruding on something. The Bear does this in a way which reflects the pressure of the kitchen but In The Mood For Love is much different. It reflects the secrecy shared between the two central characters. It reflects the entrapment they feel, living in unhappy marriages with seemingly no escape. Wong Kar-wai doesn’t condescend us with dramatic declarations of love or theatric reveals but rather subtle cues that reach our emotions rather than just our eyes and ears - I’m thinking of the shot of Tony Leung’s character (Chow Mo-wan) staring almost ambiguously ahead as a vivid yellow light captures his expression. The lighting does all the talking here - the feelings which he later realises have crept up on him are creeping up and we can tell through the passionate colours that he’s falling in love.

An unexpected thing I liked about the film was its pacing. I’m young so unfortunately I have the tendency to become bored easily but I loved how small moments in the film were made significant so we could feel the subjective emotions of the characters as they develop feelings for each other. The slow motion shots of them passing each other on the stairs, the touching of hands as the shot lingers a littler longer than usual, waiting for the phone to ring three times. These prolonged moments weren’t boring but moving because of the power that Wong Kar-wai gave them.

There’s definitely more to say about the film and I’ve quite literally just watched it before going to bed so specifics are a bit hard to remember but I did really like this film and wanted to share that.

[filmsandtextinmotion]

In the Mood for Love (2000)

[romanceyourdemons]

past lives (2023) is an incredible story, both in writing, filming, and narrative. it is fairly clear that debut director celine song is primarily a playwright: the way that the film uses dialogue, in brief, clear anecdotes centered more on the dialogue than on the corresponding visuals, feels very stagey and brings a new and interesting feel to the film medium. in terms of narrative, the film uses a frame of flashbacks and, within that frame, a series of loosely connected vignettes to build the story of the complex relationships between nora, a new york-based korean-american playwright, her childhood sweetheart hae-sung, and her husband arthur. this vignette-based narrative structure and the steady cinematography with an eye to the culture and community of the film’s city bring to mind the films of wong kar-wai, and indeed one shot, with the camera panning back and forth between nora and hae-sung as they speak, is straight out of in the mood for love (2000). however, where many of wong’s films explore urban isolation and the rising generation’s struggle to form connections with those claustrophobically close with them, this film looks at the flip side of that: the rising generation’s struggle to process the connections they have formed through technology with those far distant from them. nora and hae-sung’s relationship is complex and often undefinable, and the inability to properly define and therefore resolve that relationship forms the core conflict of the film. furthermore, the film directly addresses the narrative of a tragic, fated love disrupted by marriage to someone different as experienced by a chow mo-wan and a su li-zhen, and it does its best to fight against that deeply entrenched narrative to say that sometimes that fated love is not right for a happy life, but that this does not devalue that connection or make its resolution any less painful. the striking, sensitively acted narrative and beautifully written script of past lives (2023) make this an incredible and highly effective film, which i would strongly recommend