Wong Kar Wai’s loose sequel to In the Mood for Love combines that film’s languorous air of romantic longing with a dizzying time-hopping structure with some surprising detours into science fiction territory. Tony Leung Chiu Wai reprises his role as writer Chow Mo-Wan, who plunders his numerous failed relationships for fictional inspiration, drawing thinly-veiled portraits of the women in his life. The film’s dazzling fantasy sequences give Wong and two of his key collaborators – cinematographer Christopher Doyle and editor/costume designer/production designer William Chang Suk Ping – license to let their imaginations run wild, propelling the sumptuous visuals and operatic emotions skyward toward the sublime. 

Notes by David O’Mahony

Screening as part of The World of Wong Kar Wai season.