Media and Music: How “In the Mood for Love” Evokes the Melancholy and Beauty of Hong Kong
The breathtaking atmosphere of Wong Kar-Wai’s 2000 romantic drama “In the Mood for Love” is bolstered by florid string accompaniment and wistful Spanish-language tunes.
In Media and Music, our writers take a deep dive into how movies use scores and songs to engage viewers, give new meaning and tone to some of our favorite scenes, and establish themes. It almost goes without saying, but there are spoilers abound.
Written by William Golden
Illustrated by Alyssa Sheldon
Musical motifs, when done well, can enhance one’s emotional response to a movie. One of the most famous instances of this technique is the ominous two-note refrain that plays whenever the shark approaches beachgoers in John Williams’ score to “Jaws.” By the end of the movie, just hearing that musical cue is enough to instill a sense of panic in audience members.
Director Wong Kar-Wai is no stranger to using musical motifs: 1994’s “Chungking Express” uses The Mamas & the Papas’ wintry “California Dreamin’” to soundtrack nearly ten minutes of the movie, adding to its hypnotic effect. Michael Galasso’s score for one of Wong’s later movies, “In the Mood for Love,” manages to accomplish the same feat, using a stirring violin motif and the warm voice of Nat King Cole to evoke a sense of hopeless romance.
“In the Mood for Love” centers around the characters of Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan, two neighbors in an apartment complex in 1960s Hong Kong. Since Mr. Chow’s wife works late nights and Mrs. Chan’s husband takes frequent business trips, they both frequently find themselves alone, consequently gaining a sense of companionship in one another. They gradually realize that Mr. Chow’s wife is having an affair with Mrs. Chan’s husband, leaving them heartbroken and betrayed. Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan act as the other’s respective spouses to figure out how they initiated their relationship, but are mindful to keep their own interactions chaste. Their casual acquaintanceship grows closer following this reveal, with the pair renting a hotel room to work on Mr. Chow’s martial arts serials while keeping their blossoming yet platonic affection hidden from their neighbors.
Given how much of the movie revolves around hidden liaisons, the film was originally meant to be called “Secrets,” but the Cannes Film Festival asked Wong to change the title to something less generic. Wong came across a song by former Roxy Music frontman Bryan Ferry, a cover of the classic jazz standard “I’m In the Mood for Love.” The song, which opens with the lyrics: “I’m in the mood for love / Simply because you’re near me,” communicates the longing between the film’s two central characters. The title is also fitting in the context of the movie’s soundtrack, which is populated with romantic ballads from the same era. The sense of nostalgia evoked by those songs contributes to the movie’s depiction of a past relationship tinged with the thought of what might have been.
Image courtesy of Janus Films
The movie prominently features Shigeru Umenyabashi’s “Yumeji’s Theme” taken from Seijun Suzuki’s “Yumeji,” a lesser-known movie made nine years eariler. The plaintive, aching violin melody communicates a sense of painful longing so effectively that just saying the movie’s title will likely conjure up the theme in a viewer’s mind. Many scenes take place in slow motion, with “Yumeji’s Theme” playing as characters exchange guarded pleasantries while passing each other in hallways or alleyways. The first of the nine times it plays throughout the movie occurs when Mr. Chow walks past Mrs. Chan with little acknowledgement. From then on, the pair becomes more and more acquainted each time the theme plays. Time is malleable throughout the movie: the characters’ lives jump from one scene to the next without any noticeable transition. Coupled with “Yumeji’s Theme,” the slow motion gives an added flourish to otherwise mundane activities like walking to buy a bowl of noodles. The music aids in crafting a hazy, dreamlike atmosphere that feels like recalling an intense yet tender memory from one’s past.
At this point in the film, the viewer is firmly enveloped into the blossoming romance between Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan, and has likely forgotten about their missing spouses. Both the viewer and the main characters are brought back into reality when Mr. Chan, calling in from Japan, dedicates Zhou Xuan’s song “Hua Yang De Nian Hua (In Full Bloom)” to his wife via radio. The track has a nostalgic feel that fits in with the other choices on the soundtrack, with a tune reminiscent of “Happy Birthday.” However, the Mandarin-language lyrics stand out amid the largely foreign musical choices, reminding Mrs. Chan of her connection with her husband and her desire not to scandalize the community. The song is the jolt back to reality that causes Mr. Chow, who is listening in the neighboring apartment, to realize that their affair would never work out. In order to forget about Mrs. Chan, he takes a job in Singapore.
The soundtrack for the latter two-thirds of the movie incorporates music appropriate to 1960s Hong Kong. The movie uses the Spanish-language Nat King Cole covers of “Aquellos ojos verdes” and “Quizás, quizás, quizás.” Although the songs are in Spanish and sung by an American, Hong Kong’s status as an international hub for culture was reflected in the popularity of global radio hits. The language difference provides an additional layer of abstraction, reminiscent of the inability of the two to directly confront the meaning of their relationship. Moreover, Mrs. Chan and Mr. Chow’s strengthening attraction is signaled by the repetition of these playfully romantic songs.
Image courtesy of Janus Films
“In the Mood for Love” most prominently uses the hit “Quizás, quizás, quizás (Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps)” near its end. The lyrics reflect Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan’s unconsummated affair, describing how “Days pass like this / Me, growing desperate / And you, you answering / Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps.” The song first plays after Mr. Chow asks Mrs. Chan if she would like to accompany him to Singapore, the first outright declaration of his love for her. It’s left ambiguous as to whether or not he actually picked up the phone and called her, making the answer an unexplored “perhaps.” Later, Mrs. Chan finds Mr. Chow’s Singapore address and calls him, but walks away when he picks up the phone, cueing the music. What would have happened if he answered? Another “perhaps.” The music plays for a third time as Mr. Chow longingly looks at the door where Mrs. Chan is staying, with the knowledge that she now has a child. He walks away without knocking, and the music ends. The final perhaps in their relationship, this use of "Quizás, quizás, quizás” represents missed connections, an opportunity to connect to another person that the characters weren’t bold enough to take.
Earlier in the film, Mr. Chow mentions to a friend that if “someone had a secret they didn’t want to share,” older generations “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.” Mr. Chow follows through with that idea in the final scene of the movie, set in Angkor Wat. The viewer does not hear what he whispers; instead, Michael Galasso’s “Angkor Wat Theme” plays over the scene. In a movie with a plot propelled by unspoken words, the choice to drown out Mr. Chow’s final words is an apt one. Like “Yumeji’s Theme,” the backdrop to the piece contains a three-note plucked string motif to support the melody. The cello gives a soulful performance as the primary soloist. The overwhelming sadness of the piece and the lingering shots of ancient ruins end the piece on a mournful note. As the music and the movie conclude, it is hard not to reflect on regrets from one’s own past.
Few movie themes are as successful in encapsulating a movie’s ambience as “Yumeji’s Theme.” Similarly, the Spanish and Mandarin-language songs are essential to setting the film’s elegant, heartbreaking tone. Although the movie is far from a household name in the West, “In the Mood for Love” received overwhelming praise from film critics and audiences. The website They Shoot Pictures, Don’t They?, which aggregates thousands of critics’ lists, declared “In the Mood for Love” to be the most lauded film of the 21st century. It’s doubtful that the film would have been as acclaimed had it not had a soundtrack that lingers in one’s mind long after the credits roll.