Romance Melodrama Analysis Essay on In the Mood for Love by Wong Kar Wai

In the mood for love is a romance melodrama by Wong Kar Wai which portrays the story of a married man and woman who fall in love with each other amidst their misery of learning that their respective partners are involved in an extra-marital affair. The duo resides in rented neighbouring apartments, and following betrayal predicament from their spouses find themselves in a complex situation of an uncertain affair. However, they do not seem to initiate the affair probably due to ethical concerns or social propriety. Both the protagonists are in the mood for love but not in a position to enjoy it since they believe that they should be better than their adulterous partners. In the film, Wong Kar Wai has incorporated different key elements necessary to make it appealing and depict the themes. In this paper, however, I am going to discuss one element which is mise en scene and how it portrays the theme of love.

Mise en scene connotes the process of organizing everything that appears on the stage, for example, the actors, props, decor, costume, and lighting. In the film In the Mood for Love, Wong creatively uses this element broadly. The cameras used for shooting this film plays the role of an ancillary character since they document from an unobtrusive distance and eavesdrops on the characters. Su Li-Zhen (the female protagonist) and Chow Mo Wans (male protagonist) conversations are mainly captured in the hallways, framed by doorways as well as via Windows by an oft-stationery camera that is normally partially hidden. The cameras are also placed in strategic positions to highlight the mystery and excitement of the characters in the film. For example, in the scenes where Su and Chow are together and despite the fact that they agreed not to commit adultery. In those scenes, one can see the love they feel for each other from the way they look at each other. Additionally, in the rain scene, Su and Chow pass each other along the staircase on their way to get noodles. However, the rain forces them to take shelter, and we can see the camera highlighting the anatomy of their glance in slow motion. Shigeru Umebayashis soundtrack, Yumejis Theme, can also be heard enhancing the mood of the scene. Therefore, placement of soundtracks in various scenes is another form of mise en scene used by Wong to convey a message of love.

In most scenes, Wong makes sure that wry smiles, decorations, glances or curlicue of cigarette smoke are used to capture emotions rather than involvement of an expository dialogue between the characters. In the scene where Su visits Chow in the hotel room where he has rented a room to avoid neighbors gossip, the red curtains exteriors compliments with Sus clads. Accompanying the beautiful scene is Nat King Coles song, aqueous Ojos Verdes (green eyes). The visual dichotomy of the scene gives the viewer an opinion that Su and Chow would consummate their relationship. However, at the door, they agree not to be about their cheating spouses and Nats soundtrack changes to quotas quiz (perhaps perhaps perhaps). Thus, the whole mise-en-scene spawns a change in the mood. Use of sentimental soundtracks and short depth-of-focus interior cinematography are also widely used in the film to communicate the theme of love. Another form of mise en scene is the reflective mirrors in shots where Su and Chow are together which indicates the lack of privacy since every reflexive reaction of admiration from either of them is reflected back for viewers to see. Therefore, it is clear that Wong uses the element of mise en scene to portray the theme of love.