Today, in honor of the great martyr, Saint Valentine, I rewatched Wong Kar-Wai's In the Mood for Love. But hmm... maybe it was a mistake to do so.. I debated wether or not I should watch this film since I knew how lonely it would make me feel, but it's one of the best portrayals of love in film that I've seen, so I decided to watch it. In my opinion, what makes this such an accurate portrayal of love is that there is no exact moment where Chow suddenly realizes he loves Mrs. Chan; the feeling just kind of creeps up on him until one day, he realizes it. And that, to me, is what true love is.
I also absolutely adore the way Wong Kar-Wai is able to depict love, longing, and loneliness in his films. If you've seen any Wong Kar-Wai movies, you'll probably be familiar with this idea of melancholic love, but in In the Mood for Love especially, the way he makes use of color really accentuates this feeling of longing and the message that love is pain. This was not only a great story, but a great visual experience, and the performances by Tony Leung and Magie Cheung were to die for! They really complete the cool-sexiness of a 90's Hong Kong movie.
Overall, I think this was a great film to watch on Valentine's Day (maybe because it catered towards my lonely heart).