100
The New York Times by A.O. Scott
Probably the most breathtakingly gorgeous film of the year, dizzy with a nose-against-the-glass romantic spirit that has been missing from the cinema forever.
In the Mood for Love(花樣年華)
✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ Read critic reviews
Hong Kong, China · 2000
Rated PG · 1h 39m
Director Wong Kar-wai
Starring Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Maggie Cheung, Rebecca Pan, Kelly Lai Chen
Genre Drama, Romance
Add to Watchlist
Please login to add films to your watchlist.
In 1962 Hong Kong, neighbors Chow and Su are both suspecting their spouses of adultery. With the partners often away, the pair find solace in each other's company. Though their attraction is evident, Chow and Su must keep the bond platonic so as not to commit their spouses' same wrongs.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
75
San Francisco Chronicle by Edward Guthmann
Wong denies us the satisfaction of resolution, but in sharing his mastery of cinema, and his gift for conveying mood, desire and vivid emotions, he's more than generous.
83
Entertainment Weekly by Lisa Schwarzbaum
Although In the Mood for Love isn't in the mood for action, it dazzles with everything but.
75
Chicago Tribune by Michael Wilmington
Shimmers and glows. But it also stings a little -- like the lovely flame that dies and the smoke that, in yet another Cole song, gets in your eyes.
50
A stylistically fastidious, exasperatingly affected package that will put most people in the mood for slumber.
50
New York Magazine (Vulture) by Peter Rainer
In the Mood for Love has novelty value, I suppose, and plenty of pretty camera moves, but it's not really a movie you can warm to.
90
Rolling Stone by Peter Travers
The film is alive with delicacy and feeling...It's a beauty.
90
This enthralling, enigmatic, romantic drama from Asia's most influential auteur (Chungking Express) is an essay in appetite and inhibition.
90
Smolders with more reserved passion than "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon."
100
Philadelphia Inquirer by Steven Rea
A feast for the eyes and succor for the soul.
Users who liked this film also liked
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring
View full details
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring
(봄 여름 가을 겨울 그리고 봄)
What you like, others will also like.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Korea, Germany • 2003
- Director Kim Ki-duk
- Cast Kim Ki-duk, Kim Young-min, Ha Yeo-jin, Oh Yeong-su, Seo Jae-kyeong, Kim Jong-ho
- Genre Drama
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube
The 400 Blows
View full details
The 400 Blows
(Les Quatre Cents Coups)
The story of a misunderstood adolescent boy growing up in Paris.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 1959
- Director François Truffaut
- Cast Jean-Pierre Léaud, Claire Maurier, Albert Rémy, Georges Flamant, Patrick Auffay, Robert Beauvais
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy
The Celebration
View full details
The Celebration
(Festen)
Dark family secrets are uncovered at a 60th birthday party.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Denmark, Sweden • 1998
- Director Thomas Vinterberg
- Cast Ulrich Thomsen, Henning Moritzen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Paprika Steen, Birthe Neumann, Trine Dyrholm
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel
M
View full details
M
(M - Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder)
When police in a German city are unable to catch a child killer, local criminals agree to join in the manhunt.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany • 1931
- Director Fritz Lang
- Cast Peter Lorre, Ellen Widmann, Inge Landgut, Otto Wernicke, Theodor Loos, Gustaf Gründgens
- Genre Drama, Action, Thriller, Crime
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Kanopy, Plex, Plex Channel
View full details
2046
Reality and fiction blend for a grieving sci-fi writer desperate to understand — and forget.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Hong Kong, China, France • 2004
- Director Wong Kar-wai
- Cast Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Gong Li, Faye Wong, Takuya Kimura, Zhang Ziyi, Carina Lau
- Genre Drama, Fantasy, Romance, Science Fiction
- Available on Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand, Tubi TV
View full details
Mulholland Drive
An aspiring actress tries to help a woman with amnesia solve the mystery of her identity.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, United States • 2001
- Director David Lynch
- Cast Naomi Watts, Laura Harring, Justin Theroux, Ann Miller, Dan Hedaya, Brent Briscoe
- Genre Thriller, Drama, Mystery
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Amazon Video
The Double Life of Véronique
View full details
The Double Life of Véronique
(La double vie de Véronique)
Each of us is matched somewhere in the world by our exact double, someone who shares our thoughts and dreams.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Poland, Norway • 1991
- Director Krzysztof Kieślowski
- Cast Irène Jacob, Halina Gryglaszewska, Philippe Volter, Guillaume de Tonquédec, Kalina Jędrusik, Aleksander Bardini
- Genre Drama, Thriller
- Available on Criterion Channel, Apple TV, Amazon Video
View full details
My Blueberry Nights
Waitressing across the country after a nasty breakup, Elizabeth crosses paths with a series of lost souls.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- China, France, United States • 2007
- Director Wong Kar-wai
- Cast Norah Jones, Jude Law, David Strathairn, Rachel Weisz, Natalie Portman, Cat Power
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Peacock Premium, Peacock Premium Plus, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, YouTube, Tubi TV, Pluto TV, Freevee, Kanopy, Hoopla, Plex, Plex Channel
Raise the Red Lantern
View full details
Raise the Red Lantern
(大红灯笼高高挂)
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- China, Hong Kong • 1991
- Director Zhang Yimou
- Cast Gong Li, Ma Jing-Wu, He Saifei, Cao Cuifen, Kong Lin, Jin Shu-Yuan
- Genre Drama
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Chungking Express
View full details
Chungking Express
(重慶森林)
Two tales of love and loss told in sequence.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Hong Kong • 1994
- Director Wong Kar-wai
- Cast Brigitte Lin, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Faye Wong, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Valerie Chow, Piggy Chan
- Genre Comedy, Drama, Romance
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube
Fallen Angels
View full details
Fallen Angels
(墮落天使)
In this bifurcated crime narrative, a disillusioned hitman attempts to escape from his violent lifestyle against the wishes of his partner.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Hong Kong • 1995
- Director Wong Kar-wai
- Cast Leon Lai, Michelle Reis, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Charlie Yeung, Karen Mok, Chan Man-Lei
- Genre Drama, Action, Romance
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube
Days of Being Wild
View full details
Days of Being Wild
(阿飛正傳)
A young heartbreaker struggles with commitment while searching for his biological mother's identity.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Hong Kong • 1990
- Director Wong Kar-wai
- Cast Andy Lau, Leslie Cheung, Maggie Cheung, Jacky Cheung, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Carina Lau
- Genre Crime, Drama, Romance
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max
Happy Together
View full details
Happy Together
(春光乍洩)
A couple take a trip to Argentina in search of a new beginning, but instead find themselves drifting ever further apart.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Hong Kong, Japan, Korea • 1997
- Director Wong Kar-wai
- Cast Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Leslie Cheung, Chang Chen, Gregory Dayton, Yee-Gan Chan
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Rakuten Viki, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube
As Tears Go By
View full details
As Tears Go By
(旺角卡門)
Falling for his cousin, a mobster is compelled to start a new life, but that means leaving his partner in crime for good.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Hong Kong • 1988
- Director Wong Kar-wai
- Cast Andy Lau, Maggie Cheung, Jacky Cheung, Alex Man, Ronald Wong Ban, Wong Aau
- Genre Action, Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max
The Exterminating Angel
View full details
The Exterminating Angel
(El ángel exterminador)
A high society party devolves into chaos when the guests are mysteriously unable to leave the room.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Mexico • 1962
- Director Luis Buñuel
- Cast Silvia Pinal, Jacqueline Andere, José Baviera, Augusto Benedico, Luis Beristáin, Antonio Bravo
- Genre Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
- Available on Criterion Channel, Cultpix, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, YouTube, Plex, Plex Channel
View full details
The Lunchbox
Can you fall in love with someone you've never met?
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- India, France, Germany • 2013
- Director Ritesh Batra
- Cast Irrfan Khan, Nimrat Kaur, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Lillete Dubey, Nakul Vaid, Bharati Achrekar
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, AMC on Demand
View full details
I Am Not Your Negro
A study of race in America then and now, inspired by James Baldwin's unpublished writings.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Switzerland, France, Belgium • 2017
- Director Raoul Peck
- Cast Samuel L. Jackson, James Baldwin, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Medgar Evers, Ray Charles
- Genre Documentary, History
- Available on Hulu, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, FlixFling, Kanopy, Hoopla
The Swallows of Kabul
View full details
The Swallows of Kabul
(Les Hirondelles de Kaboul)
Two couples attempt to sustain their relationships under the violent rule of the Taliban in 1998 Afghanistan.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Switzerland, Luxembourg • 2019
- Director Zabou Breitman, Eléa Gobbé-Mévellec
- Cast Simon Abkarian, Zita Hanrot, Swann Arlaud, Hiam Abbass, Jean-Claude Deret, Sébastien Pouderoux
- Genre Animation, Drama
- Available on No streaming locations found.
This film is so beautiful—the iconic soundtrack, the costumes, the lighting, everything! A must watch if you want to feel nostalgic for the universal feeling of falling in love.
This film is incredibly moving not despite, but because the writing and performances are beautifully understated. But the costumes, and Mrs. Chan's dresses are as iconic as Grace Kelly's in Rear Window or Cecelia's green dress in Atonement.
An absolutely gorgeous film. The longing between the two characters combined with the beautiful camerawork make this into a truly impactful piece. It really sticks with you. Just a wonderful viewing experience.
This film blew me away the first time I watched it on a tiny laptop screen. It also blew me away remastered in the Criterion Collection (highly, highly recommend this!) The two songs that play throughout, Quizas sung by Nat King Cole and Yumeji's Theme, haunt my favorite memories. Definitely the best of the informal trilogy (Days of Being Wild and 2046)!