In the Mood for Love (2000) is to the brim with monotony, from the score recurring constantly in the film to certain scenes being played out in near identical fashion. While this repetition at first appears to be boring and filler in what is frankly a short movie, it serves the purpose of realistically portraying the development of a relationship. These recurrences also prove to be the better option than the alternative scarcity, as depicted by Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan’s respective partners.
By scarcity, I am referring to how little of the characters are shown as well as how infrequently they appear. Mrs. Chow and Mr. Chan’s faces are never shown, and their dialogue is delivered in a monotone fashion. No music plays over the few scenes they are in, letting their dry dialogue dominate the scene. These features create an impersonal feeling that justifies the development of an affair.
Contrast this to said affair’s growth. Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan encounter each other in a lot of the same ways, each of these scenes carrying many of the same attributes. The first trait many of their scenes share is the recurrence of the same audio, notably the recurring score and pop song that plays over their scenes. These scenes consist of Mrs. Chan picking up her noodles and briefly encountering Mr. Chow on the way, Mrs. Chan and Mr. Chow having dinner together, and even when the two lovers are separate, contemplating their decisions. Other notable repetitions include Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan walking home from dinner and engaging in small talk. In this case, this scene repeats with the same opening cinematography and same dialogue.
This repetition succeeds in illustrating an elapse of time, because it implies that more of the same thing is happening. The recurrence of these scenes shows the gradual development of a relationship, since making habits of small matters such as dinner and reading serials together is what makes up the lofty concept that is a relationship. In other words, this is a grounded interpretation of a romance in bloom. The romantic mood the movie carries is made believable by this grounded interpretation. Compare this to the stagnancy of Mrs. Chow and Mr. Chan’s scenes. The audience sees little of their lives whereas with their partners, the viewer is entitled to much more, even if that “much more” is more of the same.
In the Mood for Love doesn’t go for the “love at first sight” angle, preferring a slow-burn romance over the typical Hollywood romance. This is much to the movie’s benefit, as much of the journey is seeing how Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan get together, now whether or not they do. The repetition along this journey creates a mood that helps the viewer understand they the characters would even consider an affair.
In other words, the mood is the message.
The CineMan Twist 