On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 92% based on 187 reviews, with an average rating of 8/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "An exquisitely shot showcase for Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung that marks a somber evolution of Wong Kar-wai's chic style, In the Mood for Love is a tantric tease that's liable to break your heart."[13] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 87 out of 100 based on 28 critic reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[14]
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three stars out of four, calling it "a lush story of unrequited love".[15] Elvis Mitchell, writing for The New York Times, referred to it as "probably the most breathtakingly gorgeous film of the year".[16]
Peter Travers of Rolling Stone wrote that "in the hands of a hack, In the Mood for Love could have been a snickering sex farce. In the hands of Wong Kar-wai ... the film is alive with delicacy and feeling".[17] Peter Walker of The Guardian, describing it as his "favourite film", wrote that it provides "profound and moving reflections on life's fundamentals. It's a film about, yes, love; but also betrayal, loss, missed opportunities, memory, the brutality of time's passage, loneliness—the list goes on".[18] David Parkinson of Empire awarded the film five out of five stars, writing that "the performances are masterly, and the photography beautiful. It's a genuinely romantic romance and makes for sublime cinema".[19] jmc of Notes on Cinema writes: "Why does Wong Kar Wai begin the end of the film with a brief glimpse at Cambodian foreign relations[?] Cambodia, like the rest of Southeast Asia in the 1960s, is a victim of the actions of others [and] might be trying to put on a brave face when Charles de Gaulle visits; behind its countenance is anger at what others have done to it".[20]
Influence
Sofia Coppola credited In the Mood for Love as her largest inspiration on her Academy Award-winning film Lost in Translation, which ended with secrets being shared, and made important use of another song by Bryan Ferry. Lost in Translation's iconic opening shot was inspired by a shot from In the Mood for Love. Coppola thanked Wong Kar-wai in her Oscar acceptance speech.[21] Barry Jenkins cited it as one of the 10 greatest films of all time. [22]
The directors of Academy Award-winning film Everything Everywhere All at Once cited In the Mood for Love and its director Wong Kar-wai as inspirations for portions of their multiverse story. [23]
Lists
In 2000, Empire ranked it number 42 in its list titled "The 100 Best Films of World Cinema".[24] It was ranked 95th on 100 Best Films from 1983 to 2008 by Entertainment Weekly.[25] In November 2009, Time Out New York ranked the film as the fifth-best of the decade, calling it the "consummate unconsummated love story of the new millennium".[26]
They Shoot Pictures, Don't They?, a review aggregator covering the history of cinema, lists In the Mood for Love as the 19th most acclaimed film of all time, making it the most widely acclaimed film released anywhere in the world since its release in 2000.[27] In the 2022 Sight & Sound critics poll, In the Mood for Love appeared at number 5, making it the highest ranked film from the 2000s and one of only two from the 2000s to be listed in the top 10 of all time, along with David Lynch's Mulholland Drive. Wong's film was also the highest ranked film by a Chinese filmmaker. The film owed its placement to the votes of 42 critics (out of 846) who placed it in their own individual top 10 lists.[28]
In 2015, the Busan International Film Festival ranked the film No. 3 in its Asian Cinema 100 list, behind Yasujirō Ozu's Tokyo Story and Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon.[29]
In 2016, the film appeared in second place on BBC's list of 100 Greatest Films of the 21st Century after Mulholland Drive.[30] The film ranked 9th in BBC's 2018 list of The 100 greatest foreign language films voted by 209 film critics from 43 countries around the world.[31]
In 2019, The Guardian ranked the film fifth in its Best Films of the 21st Century list.[32] In 2021 the film was ranked at No. 8 on Time Out magazine's list of The 100 best movies of all time.[33]
In 2022, Sight & Sound ranked the film 5th on its "Greatest Films of All Time" critics' poll.[34]
Awards
- 2000 Cannes Film Festival
- Won: Best Actor (Tony Leung Chiu-wai)[35]
- Won: Technical Grand Prize (Christopher Doyle, Lee Ping-bing, William Chang)[35]
- Nominated: Palme d'Or[35]
- 2001 Hong Kong Film Awards
- Won: Best Actor (Tony Leung Chiu-wai)
- Won: Best Actress (Maggie Cheung)
- Won: Best Art Direction (William Chang)
- Won: Best Costume and Make-up Design (William Chang)
- Won: Best Film Editing (William Chang)
- Nominated: Best Picture
- Nominated: Best Director (Wong Kar-wai)
- Nominated: Best Supporting Actress (Poon Dick-wah)
- Nominated: Best Screenplay (Wong Kar-wai)
- Nominated: Best New Performer (Siu Ping-lam)
- Nominated: Best Cinematography (Christopher Doyle, Lee Pin-bing)
- Nominated: Best Original Score (Michael Galasso)
- 2000 Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards
- Won: Best Actress (Maggie Cheung)
- 2001 Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards
- Won: Best Director (Wong Kar-wai)
- Won: Film of merit
- 2001 Belgian Syndicate of Cinema Critics (Belgium)
- Won: Grand Prix
- 2002 National Society of Film Critics (USA)
- Won: Best Foreign Language Film
- Won: Best Cinematography (Christopher Doyle, Lee Pin-bing)
- 2001 César Awards
- Won: Best Foreign Film
- 2001 German Film Awards
- Won: Best Foreign Film
- 2001 New York Film Critics Circle Awards
- Won: Best Foreign Language Film
- Won: Best Cinematography (Christopher Doyle, Lee Pin-bing)
- 2001 BAFTA Awards
- Nominated: Best Foreign Language Film
- 2002 Argentine Film Critics Association Awards
- Won: Best Foreign Language Film
- 2000 Asia-Pacific Film Festival
- Won: Best Cinematography (Christopher Doyle, Lee Pin-bing)
- Won: Best Editing (William Chang)
- 2001 Australian Film Institute Awards
- Nominated: Best Foreign Language Film
- 2001 British Independent Film Awards
- Won: Best Foreign Language Film
- 2002 Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards
- Nominated: Best Foreign Language Film
