What they said about In the Mood For Love: director Wong Kar-wai and stars Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung on filming the romantic drama
- Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Maggie Cheung shared their frustration at how long it took to shoot and Wong’s lack of direction, but say it improved their performances
- Wong Kar-wai shared his thoughts on shooting in Bangkok to recreate 1960s Hong Kong, and filming the finale in Angkor Wat, Cambodia
In the Mood For Love, Wong Kar-wai’s sensitive and stylish romance set in 1960s Hong Kong, brought him to the attention of mainstream viewers abroad when it was released around the world in the early 2000s.
“It is primarily a mood piece – and what a mood Wong creates,” Paul Fonoroff wrote in a four-star review for the Post in 2000.
“Production designer/editor William Cheung achieves new heights in recreating the milieu of early 1960s Hong Kong … Wong has always managed to get the best out of his actors, and In the Mood For Love is no exception. Leung and Cheung capture the conflicting sensations of love and betrayal.”
The shoot took place on and off over 15 months, because of the impact on the film’s backer of the Asian financial crisis and the difficulty of finding locations that could stand in for 1960s Hong Kong.
The length of the shoot, along with Wong’s penchant for not offering his actors guidance on their characters, angered Cheung and Leung. They were vocal about their concerns at the time, although they both later said that it benefited their performances. The pair were named best actor and best actress at the 2001 Hong Kong Film Awards for their parts in the film.