What Are The Barriers In The Mood For Love
Vince Dominic C. Gapit
Associate Professor Nerisa del Carmen Guevarra
HUM1
23 March 2014
Beyond Barriers: The Limits of Love In the Mood for Love by Wong Kar-Wai is a heartwarming and at the same time depressing film about love that blossomed, love that has been, and love that cannot be. It perfectly exudes the chains people are shackled to because of the norms ideals, and constructs the society has created and boxed us into. This film produced by Wong Kar-Wai is considered a film because it is made up of the basic elements that comprise what can be considered a movie according to David Bordwell & Kristin Thompson in Film Art: An Introduction. It has (1) mise-en-scene, (2) it employed cinematography, (3) it went through the editing …show more content…
process, and (4) it has music/sound.
According to Bordwell and Thompson, the mise-en-scene is an aspect of film that includes everything that appears before the camera within a shot.
Its scope covers planned elements in the view such as the props, lighting, costume, make-up, rehearsed or staged body actions, facial expressions, the actors, and as well as computer-generated images. Moreover, the mise-en-scene also includes accidental and unintended details that are seen the frame while filming. Also, In the Mood for Love can be considered a film because it undergo rigid and carefully planned cinematography – which comprises of all the manipulations in the camera during the shooting phase. Included in the cinematography are the various camera angles employed, the proximity and the camera distance utilized, and the diverse camera movements that were applied to produce the film. In the film, the director heavily relied on pans when it comes to camera movements and catered primarily on medium to close-up shots since most of the time the primary focus was on the dialogues and the movements of the actors. The third element that was apparent and makes this film a film is the element of editing. It is the process of linking two different pieces of film or shots that follow a logical and well thought off sequence and development to create a story. It’s like the weaving process of the various shots taken to interrelate these separate films into one and create a bigger story. The last and final element that would prove …show more content…
that this could be considered a film is the presence of music or sound.
Erwin Panopsky in Style and Medium in Pictures also affirms that In the Mood for Love can be considered film because unlike in theater, the spectator in film is aesthetically “in permanent motion as his eyes identifies itself with the lens of the camera, which permanently shifts in distance and direction” (300). Moreover, film opens up a world of possibilities of which the stage can never dream of (Panopsky 300). In film, the space in itself moves – approaching, receding, turning, dissolving, and recrystallizing – through the cutting and editing of various shots (Panopsky 300) Even more, the presence of special effects as visions, transformations, disapperances, slow-motion and fast motions shots, reversals and trick films are all only possible in film (Panopsky 300). According to Panopsky, with these characteristics, movies have the power, which is entirely denied to the theater, to convey psychological experiences by directly projecting their content to the screen and substituting the perception into the eyes of the spectator (300).
This movie by Wong Kar-Wai is different from a mainstream film primarily because of the bizarreness and peculiarity of the over-all production of the film. The director used various techniques such as the recurring shot of the clock, the shot of the lamp while it was raining, and the emphasis on slippers. These are just a few of the tricks that make this different from a mainstream film. Originally, mainstream films follow a linear and cohesive narrative that makes it easier to understand; this film on the other hand lacks that linear narrative and uses various abstract techniques, which makes it unique and more independent and experimental instead of mainstream.
Panopsky states that film art is the only art development of which men have witnessed the development from the very beginning (298). For Panopsky, film was a technical invention that gave rise to the discovery and gradual perfection of a new art (298). With that, Patrick Flores in Philippine Cinema and Society affirms that this film is considered as an art because film transforms reality in very specific ways (313). Cinema in order to signify meaning, has to resort to its system of codes; and this process involves transcoding among various codes, which circulate in society (313). This statement then supports Winterson’s definition of art as something visionary (7). It is something beyond what we see, and for one to fulfill this, transcendence is the key (Winterson 7). According to Winterson, it is undeniable that the arts stimulate and satisfy a part of our nature that would otherwise be left untouched and that the emotions art arouses in us are of a different order to those aroused by experience of any other kind (8). It is then right to say that after watching the film, a certain emotion; a pang of melancholy and sorrow, a bitter taste of longing was felt as the story ended with Mrs. Chan and Ms. Chow parted ways and relinquished the love they had for each other because it is deemed morally wrong by the society especially during their time.
In Jesse Prinz, When is Film Art? He quotes Noel Carroll’s argument that films produced for mass consumption qualify as art. Carroll claims that these films have genres and forms that are descended from genres and forms of works that are undeniably works of art. Moreover, he adds that before one is able to come up with the final product of a film; it must first undergo a rigid artistic process – writing, acting, cinematography, and editing. It no simple feat to accomplish such and thus, this film by Wong is considered art.
The main protagonist in this film, Mrs. Chan is often the one subject to the male gaze and the object of scrutiny. Berger, John, et al in Ways of Seeing claims that a woman’s presence expresses her own attitude to herself, and defines what can and cannot be done to her (164). A woman has to survey everything she is and everything she does because how she appears to others, and ultimately how she appears to men, is of crucial importance for what is normally thought of a success of her life (Berger, John, et. al 164). In the film, Mrs. Chan is always seen wearing colorful high neck elegant dresses, which is her way of stating her power and status. With this, she is able to establish a firm and respectable image towards other people – her boss, her husband, and her neighbors. Moreover, one scene worth noticing was when the amah asked Mrs. Suen if Mrs. Chan was going to buy some food dressed like that. This fashion statement was effectively conveyed and at this point, she was nude. To be nude, according to Berger, John, et. al is to be seen naked by others and yet not recognized for oneself (168). Mrs. Chan was also can also be considered nude when she was the object of sight by the surveyors – for instance when Ah Ping had a desire for her. She was subjected to the male gaze and she was then the object of desire.
On the other hand, it can be said that Mrs. Chan is naked when she is herself. According to Berger, John, et. al, to be naked is to be oneself (167). Nakedness reveals itself and to be naked is to be without disguise (168). Mrs. Chan was naked when she was with Mr. Chow. The restaurant scene, whenever they would pass by each other on the way to the noodle store, when they were stuck inside the room, their cab rides, and every time they were walking home together. These were the moments when Mrs. Chan was true to herself. She was not putting up a disguise and she was being herself – especially when she is subject to Mr. Chow’s gaze.
There were a lot of metaphors and symbolisms used in this film.
An example would be the presence of the recurring clock. It symbolized the passing time and possibly the remaining time left for the love that blossomed between Mrs. Chan and Mr. Chow. In the end, it was inevitable that they would not end up together. Another notable symbolism employed was the lonely trip by both Mrs. Chan and Mr. Chow as they passed by each other on a dark alley on the way to the noodle house. It was a juxtaposition of the similarities they had – both living a melancholic life because of the infidelity of their spouses. The various colorful, elegant dresses of Mrs. Chan also symbolized the passage of time and the changes in the mood of the story. The dim light radiated by the lamppost also is a metaphor of a vanishing hope in their relationships. The last symbolic action presented in the film was when Mr. Chow went to Cambodia and stood beside a wall and whispered his secrets and left those secrets there. It was a metaphor for the love that was barricaded by the forces of society that has deemed their love to be something that should be
forbidden.
In this movie, the city and love is present with the way things were presented. A glimpse in the real life of the city – set in an urbanized society of 1962 Hongkong. The setting of the film was in an overcrowded place where people rent rooms where the owners (especially the old ones) are given the authority to differentiate what’s morally correct and what is deemed to be wrong. There was one instance wherein Mrs. Suen reminded Mrs. Chan to be wary of her actions because she is wedded and going home late was inappropriate. The influence and power of the city was reflected with the way the main protagonists acted even though at some point they knew they were doing nothing wrong. However, in the latter part of the film, it was revealed that eventually something would blossom from the times they spent with each other. It was loved that blossomed, love that had been, and love that cannot be because of the social constructs created by the people.
This movie was extraordinary because of the usage of the various elements. For instance, there were shots that were vague and bizarre especially when the spouses of Mrs. Chan and Mr. Chow were being portrayed. They weren’t shown in the film and only their voices represented their existence. It was, in a way, unusual because they should have been one of the major conflicts of the story. However, the director used this tactic to divert the attention and focus on the internal conflict that would be later on present when Mrs. Chan and Mr. Chow falls in love with each other. The props were very minimal and the lighting was just the usual. What seemed to be odd was the often usage of foreground and the omniscient perspective apparent in some parts of the film. It somehow felt like it was a voyeurism of some sort. Lastly, the usage of music and sound was also something bizarre. There was one soundtrack that was Spanish and it was used during one of their intimate moments. Another music used was that upbeat, giddy music that was always used whenever they were re-enacting the possibilities of how their spouses did things. In the end one quote would sum up everything about the film, “He remembers those vanished years. As though looking through a dusty windowpane, the past is something he could see, but not touch. And everything he sees is blurred and indistinct.”
In the Mood for Love by Wong Kar-Wai is a beautiful work of art that leaves a mark in the hearts of the people – always remembering the love that blossomed, the love that has been, and the love that cannot be.
Works Cited
Winterson, Jeanette. “Imagination and Reality.” Art Objects: Essays on Ecstasy and Effrontery. New York: Random, 1996. 133-151. Print. http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0072484551/information_center_view0/ http://marshall.ucsd.edu/_files/doc/RCFilmFormHandout.pdf http://subcortex.com/WhenIsFilmArtPrinz.pdf http://www.filmcomment.com/article/of-love-and-the-city-wong-kar-wais-in-the-mood-for-love
Associate Professor Nerisa del Carmen Guevarra
HUM1
23 March 2014
Beyond Barriers: The Limits of Love In the Mood for Love by Wong Kar-Wai is a heartwarming and at the same time depressing film about love that blossomed, love that has been, and love that cannot be. It perfectly exudes the chains people are shackled to because of the norms ideals, and constructs the society has created and boxed us into. This film produced by Wong Kar-Wai is considered a film because it is made up of the basic elements that comprise what can be considered a movie according to David Bordwell & Kristin Thompson in Film Art: An Introduction. It has (1) mise-en-scene, (2) it employed cinematography, (3) it went through the editing …show more content…
process, and (4) it has music/sound.
According to Bordwell and Thompson, the mise-en-scene is an aspect of film that includes everything that appears before the camera within a shot.
Its scope covers planned elements in the view such as the props, lighting, costume, make-up, rehearsed or staged body actions, facial expressions, the actors, and as well as computer-generated images. Moreover, the mise-en-scene also includes accidental and unintended details that are seen the frame while filming. Also, In the Mood for Love can be considered a film because it undergo rigid and carefully planned cinematography – which comprises of all the manipulations in the camera during the shooting phase. Included in the cinematography are the various camera angles employed, the proximity and the camera distance utilized, and the diverse camera movements that were applied to produce the film. In the film, the director heavily relied on pans when it comes to camera movements and catered primarily on medium to close-up shots since most of the time the primary focus was on the dialogues and the movements of the actors. The third element that was apparent and makes this film a film is the element of editing. It is the process of linking two different pieces of film or shots that follow a logical and well thought off sequence and development to create a story. It’s like the weaving process of the various shots taken to interrelate these separate films into one and create a bigger story. The last and final element that would prove …show more content…
that this could be considered a film is the presence of music or sound.
Erwin Panopsky in Style and Medium in Pictures also affirms that In the Mood for Love can be considered film because unlike in theater, the spectator in film is aesthetically “in permanent motion as his eyes identifies itself with the lens of the camera, which permanently shifts in distance and direction” (300). Moreover, film opens up a world of possibilities of which the stage can never dream of (Panopsky 300). In film, the space in itself moves – approaching, receding, turning, dissolving, and recrystallizing – through the cutting and editing of various shots (Panopsky 300) Even more, the presence of special effects as visions, transformations, disapperances, slow-motion and fast motions shots, reversals and trick films are all only possible in film (Panopsky 300). According to Panopsky, with these characteristics, movies have the power, which is entirely denied to the theater, to convey psychological experiences by directly projecting their content to the screen and substituting the perception into the eyes of the spectator (300).
This movie by Wong Kar-Wai is different from a mainstream film primarily because of the bizarreness and peculiarity of the over-all production of the film. The director used various techniques such as the recurring shot of the clock, the shot of the lamp while it was raining, and the emphasis on slippers. These are just a few of the tricks that make this different from a mainstream film. Originally, mainstream films follow a linear and cohesive narrative that makes it easier to understand; this film on the other hand lacks that linear narrative and uses various abstract techniques, which makes it unique and more independent and experimental instead of mainstream.
Panopsky states that film art is the only art development of which men have witnessed the development from the very beginning (298). For Panopsky, film was a technical invention that gave rise to the discovery and gradual perfection of a new art (298). With that, Patrick Flores in Philippine Cinema and Society affirms that this film is considered as an art because film transforms reality in very specific ways (313). Cinema in order to signify meaning, has to resort to its system of codes; and this process involves transcoding among various codes, which circulate in society (313). This statement then supports Winterson’s definition of art as something visionary (7). It is something beyond what we see, and for one to fulfill this, transcendence is the key (Winterson 7). According to Winterson, it is undeniable that the arts stimulate and satisfy a part of our nature that would otherwise be left untouched and that the emotions art arouses in us are of a different order to those aroused by experience of any other kind (8). It is then right to say that after watching the film, a certain emotion; a pang of melancholy and sorrow, a bitter taste of longing was felt as the story ended with Mrs. Chan and Ms. Chow parted ways and relinquished the love they had for each other because it is deemed morally wrong by the society especially during their time.
In Jesse Prinz, When is Film Art? He quotes Noel Carroll’s argument that films produced for mass consumption qualify as art. Carroll claims that these films have genres and forms that are descended from genres and forms of works that are undeniably works of art. Moreover, he adds that before one is able to come up with the final product of a film; it must first undergo a rigid artistic process – writing, acting, cinematography, and editing. It no simple feat to accomplish such and thus, this film by Wong is considered art.
The main protagonist in this film, Mrs. Chan is often the one subject to the male gaze and the object of scrutiny. Berger, John, et al in Ways of Seeing claims that a woman’s presence expresses her own attitude to herself, and defines what can and cannot be done to her (164). A woman has to survey everything she is and everything she does because how she appears to others, and ultimately how she appears to men, is of crucial importance for what is normally thought of a success of her life (Berger, John, et. al 164). In the film, Mrs. Chan is always seen wearing colorful high neck elegant dresses, which is her way of stating her power and status. With this, she is able to establish a firm and respectable image towards other people – her boss, her husband, and her neighbors. Moreover, one scene worth noticing was when the amah asked Mrs. Suen if Mrs. Chan was going to buy some food dressed like that. This fashion statement was effectively conveyed and at this point, she was nude. To be nude, according to Berger, John, et. al is to be seen naked by others and yet not recognized for oneself (168). Mrs. Chan was also can also be considered nude when she was the object of sight by the surveyors – for instance when Ah Ping had a desire for her. She was subjected to the male gaze and she was then the object of desire.
On the other hand, it can be said that Mrs. Chan is naked when she is herself. According to Berger, John, et. al, to be naked is to be oneself (167). Nakedness reveals itself and to be naked is to be without disguise (168). Mrs. Chan was naked when she was with Mr. Chow. The restaurant scene, whenever they would pass by each other on the way to the noodle store, when they were stuck inside the room, their cab rides, and every time they were walking home together. These were the moments when Mrs. Chan was true to herself. She was not putting up a disguise and she was being herself – especially when she is subject to Mr. Chow’s gaze.
There were a lot of metaphors and symbolisms used in this film.
An example would be the presence of the recurring clock. It symbolized the passing time and possibly the remaining time left for the love that blossomed between Mrs. Chan and Mr. Chow. In the end, it was inevitable that they would not end up together. Another notable symbolism employed was the lonely trip by both Mrs. Chan and Mr. Chow as they passed by each other on a dark alley on the way to the noodle house. It was a juxtaposition of the similarities they had – both living a melancholic life because of the infidelity of their spouses. The various colorful, elegant dresses of Mrs. Chan also symbolized the passage of time and the changes in the mood of the story. The dim light radiated by the lamppost also is a metaphor of a vanishing hope in their relationships. The last symbolic action presented in the film was when Mr. Chow went to Cambodia and stood beside a wall and whispered his secrets and left those secrets there. It was a metaphor for the love that was barricaded by the forces of society that has deemed their love to be something that should be
forbidden.
In this movie, the city and love is present with the way things were presented. A glimpse in the real life of the city – set in an urbanized society of 1962 Hongkong. The setting of the film was in an overcrowded place where people rent rooms where the owners (especially the old ones) are given the authority to differentiate what’s morally correct and what is deemed to be wrong. There was one instance wherein Mrs. Suen reminded Mrs. Chan to be wary of her actions because she is wedded and going home late was inappropriate. The influence and power of the city was reflected with the way the main protagonists acted even though at some point they knew they were doing nothing wrong. However, in the latter part of the film, it was revealed that eventually something would blossom from the times they spent with each other. It was loved that blossomed, love that had been, and love that cannot be because of the social constructs created by the people.
This movie was extraordinary because of the usage of the various elements. For instance, there were shots that were vague and bizarre especially when the spouses of Mrs. Chan and Mr. Chow were being portrayed. They weren’t shown in the film and only their voices represented their existence. It was, in a way, unusual because they should have been one of the major conflicts of the story. However, the director used this tactic to divert the attention and focus on the internal conflict that would be later on present when Mrs. Chan and Mr. Chow falls in love with each other. The props were very minimal and the lighting was just the usual. What seemed to be odd was the often usage of foreground and the omniscient perspective apparent in some parts of the film. It somehow felt like it was a voyeurism of some sort. Lastly, the usage of music and sound was also something bizarre. There was one soundtrack that was Spanish and it was used during one of their intimate moments. Another music used was that upbeat, giddy music that was always used whenever they were re-enacting the possibilities of how their spouses did things. In the end one quote would sum up everything about the film, “He remembers those vanished years. As though looking through a dusty windowpane, the past is something he could see, but not touch. And everything he sees is blurred and indistinct.”
In the Mood for Love by Wong Kar-Wai is a beautiful work of art that leaves a mark in the hearts of the people – always remembering the love that blossomed, the love that has been, and the love that cannot be.
Works Cited
Winterson, Jeanette. “Imagination and Reality.” Art Objects: Essays on Ecstasy and Effrontery. New York: Random, 1996. 133-151. Print. http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0072484551/information_center_view0/ http://marshall.ucsd.edu/_files/doc/RCFilmFormHandout.pdf http://subcortex.com/WhenIsFilmArtPrinz.pdf http://www.filmcomment.com/article/of-love-and-the-city-wong-kar-wais-in-the-mood-for-love