IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE (2000)
To mark the 20th anniversary of In the Mood for Love, a remastered 4K version of the film is set to be released this year. Inspired by the 1972 novella
Intersection by Liu Yichang, the father of modern Hong Kong literature, Wong Kar-wai’s romantic drama depicts encounters between two neighbours, who become close after discovering their spouses are having an affair.
The film won Tony Leung the best actor award at the Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the Palme d’Or. Multiple directors and screenwriters across the globe have since cited the film as a major inspiration, including Sofia Coppola, who described the film as an influence on her Oscar-winning Lost in Translation. Barry Jenkins has also said Wong and the cinematographer of In the Mood for Love, Christopher Doyle, both inspired his Academy Awardwinning film Moonlight.
In the Mood for Love’s costume designs by William Chang have also been cited by numerous designers as inspiration for their collections. Roberto Cavalli credits the film as having influenced his Ming vase dress for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s exhibition
China: Through the Looking Glass, which took place in 2015. And Londonbased designer Oliver Spencer’s spring-summer 2020 menswear show was a homage to the film.