花样年华
沈宇文
一.导演、演员介绍
1.导演
王家卫,1958年7月17日出生于中国上海,籍贯浙江定海,华语电影导演、编剧、制片人,毕业于香港理工大学平面设计系。1982年,编写个人首部电影剧本《彩云曲》,从而正式进入了电影圈。1988年,执导个人首部电影《旺角卡门》获得第8届香港电影金像奖最佳导演提名。1990年,执导剧情片《阿飞正传》获得第10届香港电影金像奖最佳导演奖、第28届台湾电影金马奖最佳导演奖。1994年,执导剧情片《重庆森林》获得第14届香港电影金像奖最佳导演奖。1997年,执导剧情片《春光乍泄》获得第50届戛纳国际电影节最佳导演奖,成为戛纳国际电影节史上首位获得此奖项的华人导演。
2000年,执导剧情片《花样年华》,该片获得第26届法国电影恺撒奖最佳外国电影奖。2004年,执导剧情片《2046》,该片获得第57届戛纳国际电影节金棕榈奖提名。2006年,担任第59届戛纳国际电影节评委会主席,成为戛纳国际电影节首位华人评委会主席。2013年,执导剧情片《一代宗师》获得第33届香港电影金像奖最佳导演奖和最佳编剧奖、第4届北京国际电影节最佳导演奖、第8届亚洲电影大奖最佳导演奖。2019年5月15日,担任第22届上海国际电影节“电影创投项目”评委会主席。2020年,执导电视剧《繁花》。
2.演员
梁朝伟,1962年6月27日出生于中国香港,华语影视男演员、歌手,国家一级演员,1984年因出演电视剧《鹿鼎记》中的韦小宝一角受到关注。1988年凭借电影《人民英雄》获得第7届香港电影金像奖最佳男配角奖。1994年凭借电影《重庆森林》获得第14届香港电影金像奖最佳男主角奖、第31届台湾电影金马奖最佳男主角奖。1997年凭借电影《春光乍泄》获得第17届香港电影金像奖最佳男主角奖。1998年主演电影《暗花》。2000年凭借电影《花样年华》获得第53届戛纳国际电影节最佳男演员奖、第20届香港电影金像奖最佳男主角奖。
2002年主演张艺谋执导的电影《英雄》。2003年凭借电影《无间道》获得第22届香港电影金像奖最佳男主角奖、第40届台湾电影金马奖最佳男主角奖。2005年凭借电影《2046》获得第24届香港电影金像奖最佳男主角奖。2007年凭借电影《色·戒》获得第44届台湾电影金马奖最佳男主角奖。2011年主演王家卫执导的影片《一代宗师》。2014年受邀担任第64届柏林国际电影节主竞赛单元评委。2015年,获得法国文化部颁授的“法国艺术与文学军官勋章”。
【参考文献】
[1] 百度百科.王家卫[DB/OL].[2020-08-12].
[2] 百度百科.张曼玉[DB/OL].[2020-08-12].
[3] 百度百科.梁朝伟[DB/OL].[2020-08-12].
二.电影梗概
电影《花样年华》的灵感来源于刘以鬯的《对倒》,是著名导演王家卫的第七部优秀代表作品,拍摄于1999年,由梁朝伟、张曼玉主演,于2000年9月29日在中国香港上映。
故事的背景是20世纪60年代的香港,报馆的编辑周慕云和外贸公司的秘书苏丽珍邂逅并在同一栋公寓成为隔壁邻居。苏丽珍的老板何先生在婚姻生活中发生了出轨的行为。他一方面在苏丽珍的帮助下讨好情人,另外一方面又让苏丽珍扮演了在他和自己太太之间周旋的角色。
大家平静地生活了一段时间后,周慕云和苏丽珍都发现自己的爱人与对方的爱人走到了一起,男女主人公怀着“同是天涯沦落人”的痛苦心情,探究自己的爱人是如何开始背叛自己的,逐渐开始一起吃饭,后又因彼此共同的爱好,开始一起写武侠小说,以消遣寂寞的时光。因害怕周围人的眼光和闲言碎语,周慕云在酒店包了个房间专门开始写武侠小说,苏丽珍也总是去那里照顾他,两人共同探讨写作。
长时间的相处,使两人心生爱慕。然而在社会道德规范面前,由于文化、性格和负罪感的影响,他们最终停下了脚步,没能走到一起。面对流言蜚语,苏丽珍有意疏离周慕云,不敢让周慕云送自己回家,甚至连周慕云的伞也不敢打。周慕云托苏丽珍买了一张票,独自离开去了新加坡。“如果,我多一张船票,你会不会跟我一起走?”这个问题最终也没有得到回应。
1963年,苏丽珍来到新加坡,在周慕云的房中体味他的一切,而当打电话给他,听到彼此的声音时,两人竟只剩下沉默。1966年,苏丽珍又搬回了曾经住过的房子,恰巧周慕云也回来拜访曾经的房东,而他不知道,此时隔壁住着的,正是苏丽珍,两人再次擦身而过。这样一段纯洁而又传统的东方式爱情就这样告终,这是一种东方式的长相思,也是一种东方式的遗憾,最终被周慕云埋葬在柬埔寨的树洞中,成为永远的回忆。
三.相关获奖、报刊评价情况,颁奖辞和权威的获奖评价
1.相关获奖
(续表)
2.相关评价
《花样年华》(王家卫,2000)从一个全新的角度塑造了一个新颖脱俗、丰富多义而又含蓄蕴藉的爱情主题。表现了“那个时代”,表现了道德与情感的矛盾,表现了20世纪60年代殖民文化与传统文化之间的冲突,表现了人性的复杂微妙。周苏二人想“爱”而又不敢去“爱”的爱情故事,让人感受到的是人性、社会、道德之间复杂的关系,给人一种淡淡的遗憾和无奈。
【参考文献】
冯一帆.《花样年华》中人物角色的服饰造型及其隐喻意义[J].电影文学,2011,000(006):144-145.
《花样年华》以其独特的电影语言和叙述模式,以及带有王家卫独特标记的风格特色,实现了形式与内容的完美结合。通过独特的电影叙述模式,影片焕发出了脱俗的气质和悠长的内蕴。王家卫把片中简单的故事拍摄得委婉动人。该片的故事从头至尾没有赘余,影片的画面、剪辑也显得干净整洁。
王家卫通过一段普通的故事展现了人性的复杂和微妙,通过对场景、道具和服装的细致追求让整部电影完整地表现了属于那个时代的风情画卷。同时,在影片表达上,王家卫通过独特的表现手法将民族色彩、民族特色以及时代色彩淋漓尽致地表现出来,从而融合成独一无二的怀旧气质,这也成为该片的成功之处
【参考文献】
姜天宇.再论《花样年华》的叙事结构与隐喻内蕴[J].电影文学,2014(19).
四.评论文献综述
《花样年华》是中国著名导演王家卫的第七部优秀代表作品(管江红,2012),塑造了一个丰富多义而又含蓄蕴藉的爱情故事(冯一帆,2011)。正如《花样年华》片尾的字幕所说:“那些流逝的岁月,仿佛隔着一块积着灰尘的玻璃。”电影用隐晦唯美的场景画面、低沉抒情的音乐旋律、细致入微的服装设计,带着观众冲破那块积着灰尘的玻璃,走回早已消逝的花样年华。
在场景细节方面,王家卫导演不断地运用隐喻蒙太奇(1) 的手法,极大地增强了影片的艺术感染力,增加了影片的东方含蓄美(冯一帆,2011)。男女主人公都经常去楼下的面摊吃饭,破旧的街道、昏暗的灯光、狭隘的楼梯,衬托出他们内心形单影只、孤寂无奈的心情,而两人多次在楼梯擦肩而过,从一开始的客气疏离到后来的暗生情愫,那段阶梯仿佛他们心灵的交汇,爱意也只能隐藏在幽暗之中。为了多一些单独相处的时间,周慕云租了旅店的2046房间并且邀请苏丽珍一起去写武侠小说,电影在此处有一个经典的片段,穿着红色风衣的苏丽珍走进旅店,却不断地上下楼梯,迅速切换的场景、高跟鞋杂乱的声音暗示了主人公内心的纠结与焦虑,她很想和周慕云待在一起,却因为内心的顾虑仍有一些犹豫。《花样年华》中苏丽珍的丈夫和周慕云的妻子并未正面出场过,他们的剪影常常出现在镜子里,“镜子”扩大了空间,却也饱含了镜花水月的无奈与易逝。周慕云和苏丽珍在旅馆中会面时,大部分的场面都是镜中之像,从镜子中我们看到几乎没有笑过的苏丽珍居然如此开怀地笑着,我们看到他们第一次拥抱。然而镜中之像虽然逼真,但是当触摸它的时候才发现只是一个冰凉的虚幻,苏丽珍和周慕云难得欢愉的时光透射在镜子中,隐喻这些快乐是最终一定会被打破的(雷云,2006)。
电影中,男女主角都处于失语状态,面对着他(她)喜欢的人,却说不出话来,此时音乐在推进故事情节发展、表现人物情感等方面就大有用武之地(郝俊杰,2009)。《花样年华》的主题音乐是日本电影《梦二》里的《梦二主旋律》,该旋律一共出现了九次,从两人搬进新居,在麻将桌上的相遇,到证实双方伴侣出轨,到关系越来越近但彼此都坚守着内心的底线不敢再靠近。缓慢、忧郁的三拍节奏将主人公孤独又幽怨、渴望又害怕的复杂情感娓娓道来。影片还使用了黑人歌手NatKing Cole的三首用葡萄语演唱歌曲:《也许,也许,也许》《你说你爱我》《那双绿色的眼睛》,这些歌曲都是20世纪60年代香港夜总会和电台中播放最多的流行歌,这些歌曲给不懂葡萄语的观众提供了丰富的想象余地(朱倩,2014),而那一句句“也许、也许、也许”仿佛是对男女主角结局的回答。除了流行和国外的音乐因素,还有中国传统的戏剧,《红娘会张生》《情探》等均是描写两情相悦却又旁敲侧击的男女之间的情事的,选择这些戏剧暗示了两人缠绵的情思和电影的主题,而最终以周璇演唱的《花样年华》作结,歌词中的“花样的年华”、“多情的眷属”与画面中心事重重的男女主人公背贴着墙分别沉思的情景形成对比,表现了炽热的情愫和深深的压抑。
《花样年华》的服装设计也给观众留下了很深的印象。不同的服饰分别代表人物不同的情绪和心态,人物的外在服装每时每刻都在诉说着人物内心的感情(冯一帆,2011)。张曼玉饰演的苏丽珍在电影中一共换了23件旗袍,上下紧密包裹的旗袍,一方面是保护与矜持,另一方面衬托出女性特有的美丽,暗示情感的外露和宣泄。不同的旗袍展现了她不同的情感,刚出场时苏丽珍的旗袍的花色和租住的房子里的色调非常和谐,体现了苏丽珍想要融入恬静生活的心境;后来苏丽珍穿着黑白的旗袍、大红的风衣去2046房间,红色象征奔放的爱情,黑白则是内心的拘束。而周慕云自始至终都是西装革履,他的欲望被囚禁在整洁规范的服饰中,这也暗示他最终没有足够的勇气,不能带苏丽珍离开。
电影通过一段爱情体现了那个时代现代思想和传统文化冲突的特点。20世纪40年代初,战乱使大批的内陆人拥入香港,其中以上海移民数量最多,苏丽珍就是其中一员,她年轻漂亮,有自己的事业和兴趣爱好,在当时应该算是一位典型的新女性。她虽然旅居香港多年,但经过漫长岁月积淀的传统意识,以其巨大的刚性和韧性浸透在她的血液和生命中,使她在艰难迈出背离失败婚姻的第一步之后又不断地犹豫,最终难以摆脱本能中传统家庭观念的束缚(胡一慈,2012)。这是中国在迈入现代化的轨道之后,人的传统思想观念和现代性所带来的新观念的冲突。现代的情感观念鼓励他们争取自己的幸福,而强大的社会传统文化意识留给他们的是一个自我克制的密闭空间。正如李欧梵在《当代中国文化的现代性和后现代性》(1999)中的描述:“一个要从倒塌的围墙里逃出的男人爬上一座晶冰城,城内的女人打开了窗户却装了栅栏。”
《花样年华》很好地表现了道德以及克制在传统的东方社会里的力量,表现了东方人情感的丰富曲折以及现代人普遍存在的情感困扰与怀旧情绪,音乐、画面、服饰细致入微地演绎着故事的起承转合,有东方独有的内敛留白之美,同中国古典的江南园林一样,别有一种幽怨婉约的风韵(曾平2001)。
【参考文献】
[1] 丁静,乾直.简析挪用音乐在《花样年华》中的运用[J].电影文学,2010(17):121-122.5.
[2] 冯一帆.《花样年华》中人物角色的服饰造型及其隐喻意义[J].电影文学,2011,000(006):144-14.
[3] 管红江.从美术设计的角度评析《花样年华》[J].大舞台,2012(05):114-115.
[4] 郝俊杰.论王家卫《花样年华》的后现代音乐元素[J].电影文学,2009,No.491(014):119-120.
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[6] 胡一慈.浅谈现代境遇中都市人的情感——以王家卫的《花样年华》为例[J].大舞台,2012(02):235-236.
[7] 雷云.背叛情歌——电影《外出》与《花样年华》艺术风格的比较[J].电影文学,2006(08):21-23
[8] 王家卫,约翰·鲍尔斯,黄兆杰,etal.怀旧记忆与文化传承——王家卫访谈[J].电影艺术,2017(04):39-44.
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[10] 曾平.现代情感的东方式演绎——从电影《花样年华》和《卧虎藏龙》的东方韵味说起[J].西南民族学院学报:哲学社会科学版,2001(09):116-119.
五.跨文化知识点
1.旗袍
旗袍,中国和世界华人的传统服装,是一种极具中国传统特色、表现东方女性美的经典服饰,被誉为中国国粹和女性国服。虽然其定义和产生的时间至今还存有诸多争议,但它仍然是中国悠久的服饰文化中最绚烂的现象和形式之一。
2011年5月23日,旗袍手工制作工艺成为国务院批准公布第三批国家级非物质文化遗产之一。珍贵文化遗产苏州评弹的女演员的服装也依然是旗袍,其他传统说唱艺术如大鼓和评书等也多以旗袍为女演员传统服装。历史悠久的香港小姐,香港华裔小姐,亚洲小姐和广州西关小姐选举中,她们期间或最后必定会穿旗袍。2014年11月,在北京举行的第22届APEC会议上,中国政府选择旗袍作为与会各国领导人夫人的服装。在经历了300多年的变化后,依然享有“东方奇葩”“服装之最”等诸多美誉。我们可以从很多电影中领略旗袍的特色与魅力,比如《花样年华》《色戒》《金陵十三钗》。
旗袍起源于16世纪中期满族妇女的民族服装,满族贵族妇女一般穿高跟木屐,旗袍过脚。从20世纪20年代末到30年代初,旗袍吸收了西方女装盛行的短袍的特点,出现了仅过膝盖,袖口缩口,滚边变窄的款式。30年代中期到40年代,旗袍变得更加轻便适体,更显出女性的曲线。从50年代起,服装设计者对中国旗袍不断地进行改良,使这种民族服装既具有东方特色,又符合世界时装的流行趋势,具有优雅贤淑气质的旗袍,已经得到了国际认可。
近20年来,所见到的改良旗袍,受国际时装流行思潮影响颇大,一时间,无袖、紧腰、高开衩、超短、袒胸、裸背等各种形式变化无穷,珠片、刺绣、毛皮饰边、织物印花等工艺装饰大放异彩,颜色绚丽跳跃、浓重柔和,大胆突破了旗袍的旧有模式。改良旗袍既保留了原有的特点,又融入了创新意识。从此,传统的满装又被注入了时代的血液,赋予了青春的活力。旗袍与时装联手共存,从一种崭新的角度,用一种崭新的观念,抒发了一种崭新的家国情怀。
2.麻将
麻将是一种四人骨牌博戏,起源于中国,在华人文化圈中很流行。麻将最早出现在明万历末年间的苏州,创始人是冯梦龙,一般用竹子、骨头或塑料制成的小长方块,上面刻有花纹或字样。北方麻将每副136张牌。南方麻将一般为144张牌,添加了春、夏、秋、冬,与梅、竹、兰、菊八张花牌。也有一些地方的麻将,另再加上聚宝盆、财神、老鼠、猫各1张牌,与百搭4张牌,总计为152张牌。2017年4月,国际智力运动联盟宣布,麻将正式成为世界智力运动项目。
麻将运动是中国土生土长的娱乐项目,麻将文化代表的是中国最真实、最广泛的大众文化,有着极其广泛的群众基础。麻将运动不仅具有独特的游戏特点,而且是集益智性、趣味性、博弈性于一体的运动,具有文化内涵丰富、富有魅力、传统悠长的东方文化特征,因而成为中国传统文化宝库中的一个重要组成部分。摒除以麻将为赌博工具的坏习俗,作为一种单纯的娱乐活动,打麻将有助于促进身体健康,融入集体。俗语说:“十亿人民九亿麻,还有一亿在观察”,如今,麻将已经成为中国人最喜爱的娱乐与休闲活动之一,大街小巷随处可见有人在打麻将。
在以往的世界锦标赛中,中国选手获得了冠、亚军,同时共有七名中国选手进入前十名。在第二届世界麻将锦标赛中,中国选手夺得冠军,共有五名中国选手跻身前十。在第三届世界麻将锦标赛中,中国选手同时获得了冠、亚和季军。20世纪初期麻将还曾漂洋过海,在英美等地发展,在30年代左右蔚为风潮,在加利福尼亚的海边,美国女人们泡在游泳池里打麻将度日。对于她们来说,这种滑溜溜的消磨时间的小玩意,交织着异国情调的浪漫,也是中国古老智慧的精华、中国文化的象征。澳大利亚、丹麦、法国、德国、匈牙利、意大利、荷兰等7国麻将协会倡议在丹麦注册成立了欧洲麻将协会,并于成立当年举办了第一届欧洲麻将锦标赛。
六.讨论题
1.美国电影《廊桥遗梦》也讲述了一段短暂的婚外恋情,影片讲述了家庭主妇弗朗西斯卡在家人外出的四天里遇到了《国家地理》杂志的摄影师罗伯特·金凯,在经历了短暂的浪漫缠绵后,弗朗西斯卡因不愿舍弃家庭而与罗伯特·金凯痛苦地分手。但是对金凯的爱恋却萦绕了弗朗西斯卡的后半生。这两部电影有什么相似和不同的地方?
2.“如果,我多一张船票,你会不会跟我一起走?”是电影《花样年华》中的经典台词,男主人公是否真的说出了这句话一直有争议,有的人认为当时电话铃响了,电影中却只有打字机的声音,因此苏丽珍没有接听那一通电话,这里出现的台词只是男主人公的心声。而有的人认为周慕云说了出来,只是苏丽珍以沉默回答。你更倾向于哪一种观点?为什么?
3.电影《花样年华》中有一些类似于窥视的近景镜头,比如房东孙太太和苏丽珍在出租屋里聊天时,有一个机位在窗外;周慕云同妻子的老板聊天时,机位透过一个眼睛形状的洞向里“看去”,请问这些第三人称的窥视视角的镜头作用是什么?有什么样的含义?
4.发现自己爱人出轨以后,苏、周二人坐在出租车上,周慕云用戴着婚戒的手去触碰苏丽珍的右手,苏丽珍躲开了,后来他们又一次坐在出租车上的时候,苏握住了周的手,仿佛象征了她心里爱上了周慕云,接受了对方的情感,而周始终戴着的婚戒又充满了讽刺意味,他们似乎也成了自己口中“永远也不会成为的人”。请你再找一到两个前后呼应的情节,分析它们在表现人物心理、推进故事发展等方面的作用。
5.电影的最后,周慕云对着吴哥窟墙洞倾诉自己的心事,有人说周慕云是在忏悔,有人说他是将秘密深藏在那里,请问你觉得这里导演要表达的是什么?这里的吴哥窟又象征了什么?
Framing In the Mood for Love
Jing Hu
In the Mood for Love(Huā yàng Nián huá 花样年华,
Chinese release: 2000; US release: 2001),
Directed by Wong Kar⁃wai 王家卫
In the Mood for Love is a sensual,visually gorgeous,and romantic film produced and directed by Hong Kong director Wong Kar⁃wai. In 2000,the male lead Tony Leung became the first Hong Kong actor to win the Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival. Nineteen years after its first release, this film was still ranked as the fifth best film in the 21st century by The Guardian. Peter Walker of The Guardian,described it as his “favourite film,”and 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” (Walker 2011).
Wong Kar⁃wai (in Cantonese; “Wáng Jiāwèi”王家卫 in Mandarin) is a widely recognized film maker who is famous for his unconventional,postmodern film style. He is not only an important figure in the Hong Kong film industry, but also highly respected in today's world cinema; while many Hong Kong directors work fast and cheaply,Wong could spend years (it took 15 months to film In the Mood for Love) and millions of dollars on one project. Another aspect of his unconventional approach is that he sometimes shoots films without a script. Many scenes of In the Mood for Love were written on the fly by him (as director) and the actors together. Stephen Teo points out that Wong's films have brought wider attention to Hong Kong cinema and also broken stereotypes of the delicate and exotic East: “Wong's talent is evidently marked by an eclecticism and heterogeneity that combine not only East and West,the local and global,the literary and the cinematic.” (Teo 2005,9)
The film is set in 1962 Hong Kong. During that time,Hong Kong was a Brithish colonyand many Shanghainese had recently immigrated into the city,leading to overcrowding and a feeling of dislocation. Wong himself moved to Hong Kong from Shanghai when he was five years old,so Shanghai is an important presence in his film (the food,songs,clothes,and the gossiping housewives playing mahjong in In the Mood for Love all have Shanghai accents and fashion). This film and Wong's Days of Being Wild(1991) could be regarded as partially autobiographical. Wong has stated that he wants to capture that period and recreate its mood. You can feel a strong sense of nostalgia in In the Mood for Love,not just for the Shanghai lifestyle of a bygone era,but also for the emotions of the past,and the repression of desire,characterisitic of the socially conservative people in 1960s Hong Kong.
Wong got the inspiration for his film from a novel by another expat Shanghainese living in Hong Kong,writer Liú Yǐchàng(刘以鬯)(1918⁃ 2018). Liu first published a short story,“Duìdǎo” in 1972 (translated as “Intersection” by Li 1988). He then expanded it into a novel in 1992. In 2000,he published the short story together with the novel and essays on them by several authors,including Wong Kar⁃wai,who explained his interpretation of the stories and how he used them in his film (Luk 2005,218). Wong actually quotes several phrases from the novel in the film,one of which is particularly relevant to the theme of nostalgia: “That era is over,and everything that belongs to that era no longer exists. ... The past is something he could see but not touch” (Liu 1992,96).
Teo describes In the Mood for Love as “a melodrama about love and romance” (2005,128). The genre of the melodrama film (wényì piàn文艺片) mostly developed in Shanghai during 1946-1949 and moved along with the popular film industry to Hong Kong and Taiwan after 1949,but it declined as the martial arts (wǔxiá 武侠)film gained popularity during the 1960s. However,by the end of the twentieth century,there was a revival of wényì film in Hong Kong cinema and In the Mood for Love became the high point of this revival. The film that it most resembles in terms of genre,style and plot is Spring in a Small Town (1948),by Fèi Mù(费穆) (1906-1951) which is considered by some to be the greatest Chinese film of all time. Both films are about Chinese reserve and repressed desire and have similar aesthetic and moral stands. However,in discussing his influences Wong rarely mentions Spring in a Small Town,but talks a lot about Hitchcock's Vertigo (1958). Wong describes In the Mood for Love as a suspense film like Vertigo (considered by critics to be one of the best Western films of all time). The romantic love story and affair are just the pretext and surface of a detective story,because the two protagonists in the film— Chow (Tony Leung) and Su (Maggie Cheung)—are innocent victims of a “crime” who investigate the mystery of their spouses' affair. Also as in Hitchcock's Vertigo,Wong had his characters play “dual roles.” (See Bettinson 2015 for more about the film's mixed genres.)
The filmmaking is more suggestive of mystery and suspense than melodrama. As Peter Brunette remarks,“This mysterization is achieved by employing sound and visuals in ways that few directors have managed,ways that transcend the norms of contemporary international cinema,which still relies heavily on narration,dialogue,and conventional drama” (2005,xvi). The audience often sees people's backs,or sees people through doors,curtains,windows or mirrors; some characters (such as the spouses of the protagonists,whose affair starts the plot) never appear. Many scenes are shot at low angles,or a frame within a frame,both the rectangle of the film itself and also smaller internal shapes (such as a door frame or corridor). One mystery the audience can't help wondering about is whether the characters ever slept together in Chow's hotel room. (If not,who is the father of Mrs. Su's child who brieftly appears towards the end of the film?) Did they leave their spouses and finally get together? The deleted scenes in the DVD releases of the film (published in France and by Criterion in the U.S.)show that they did have sex,but perhaps Wong was right to leave the audience wondering.
Wong also pays fastidious attention to details. Maggie Cheung's cheongsams (qípáo旗袍in Mandarin),were changed 27 times througout the film,in styles from plain to sumptuous. Cheongsam is a typical dress of Shanghai women (and Wong mentioned in an interview that his mother often wore one). Explaining the significance of the dress, Brunette comments: “Form⁃fitting and tightly wound,even around her neck,they are thus at the same time highly sexual and highly repressed” (2005,91). Luk (2005,213) similarly comments that Cheung's tight⁃laced cheongsam seems to suggest a body politics about desire and its denial simultaneously. In one scene,Su was wearing a tight cheongsam and running up and down the stairs (not sure if she should see Chow),implying the struggle between her desire and her moral standards.
Other important feasures of this film are its slow pace and the use of repetition. For example, When Chow asks Su if she could accompany him to Singapore,Nat King Cole's “Quizas,Quizas,Quizas,” (“Maybe,Maybe,Maybe” in English) is repeated; this may imply that Su's answer is similarly unclear. Zhang suggests the dynamics of repetition with variation makes the film's moral message ambiguous. (2017,52).
Many other small details take on larger significance. The ubiquity of mirrors seems to suggest that their relationship is under the scrutiny of other people. Chow and Su are watched by the audience through the mirror,but they themselves don't look in the mirror. The repeated close⁃ups of the clock seem to emphasize the passing of time and the loneliness of the two protagonists.
Working titles of the film included“A Story about Food” and “Secrets.” However,after listening to English singer Bryan Ferry's cover of the 1935 American song of the same title,Wong decided to change the film to “In the Mood for Love”. The Chinese title “Huāyàng Niánhuá” 花样年华literally means “Prime of Life” and is also the name of a song (heard briefly in this film),sung by a Shanghainese singer and actress Zhōu Xuán周旋(1920-1957) in a film An All Consuming Love (1947).
It might seem strange that the English title of this film is not even an approximate translation of the Chinese title,and the title of a film set in 1962 is based on a recent British cover of an American song that is almost a century old. However,In the Mood for Love is more than anything else a film about different perspectives on the same situation: how Chow and Su view their spouses' affair,how their neighbors view their developing relationship,how Shanghainese view their new home in Hong Kong,and how we as the audience view all these things. Director Wong Kar⁃wai has brilliantly made us aware of the tension between our unquenchable desires—including our desire to see reality as it is in itself—and our inability to escape our personal perspectives.
Discussion Questions
1.What is the symbolic meaning of the cheongsam (the traditional Chinese dress) that Cheung wears? Why was Cheung's cheongsam changed 27 times?
2.What message does the director convey by repeating shots of music,clocks,walkways,stairs,and scenes of the female protagonist going to buy food alone?
3.Do you think this film is awenyi film or a suspense film? Why?
4.The protagonists seem clearly to fall in love. Why do they not get married? Why do they seem hesitant to sleep with one another after their spouses have abandoned them?
References
1.Bettinson,Gary. 2015. “Frustrating Formulas: Popular Genre and In the Mood for Love.” In The Sensuous Cinema Of Wong Kar⁃wai,99-124. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.
2.Brunette,Peter. 2005. “Preface.” In Wong Kar⁃wai,xiv⁃xviii. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press.
3.Brunette,Peter. 2005. “In the Mood for Love.” In Wong Kar⁃wai,86-100. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press.
4.Liu Yichang. 1988. “Intersection.”Translated by Nancy Li,Renditions 29-30.
5.Luk,Thomas Y. T. 2005. “Novels into Film: Liu Yichang'sTête⁃Bêche and Wong Kar⁃wai's In the Mood for Love.” In Chinese⁃language Film: Historiography,Poetics,Politics, edited by Sheldon H Lu and Emilie Yueh⁃yu Yeh,210-19. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
6.Teo,Stephen. 2005. “Introduction.” In Wong Kar⁃wai: Auteur of Time(World Directors),1-14. London: British Film Institute.
7.Teo,Stephen. 2005. “Betrayed by Maggie Cheung:In the Mood for Love.” In Wong Kar⁃wai: Auteur of Time(World Directors),114-33. London: British Film Institute.
8.Walker,Peter. 2011. “My Favourite Film: In the Mood for Love” (19 December).The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2011/dec/19/in⁃the⁃mood⁃for⁃love.
9. Zhang,Yingjin. 2017. “Film stars in the Perspective of Performance Studies: Play,Liminality and Alteration in Chinese Cinema” in Revisiting Star Studies: Cultures,Themes and Methods, edited by Sabrina Qiong Yu and Guy Austin,45-60. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
(1) 隐喻蒙太奇是表现蒙太奇中的一种艺术技巧,是“把表现不同形象的镜头画面加以连接,从而在镜头的组接中产生比拟、象征、暗示等作用的蒙太奇”。能给人一种既形象生动又耐人寻味的感觉。