Wong Kar-wai’s Technique of Communicating Emotions through Frames, Mise-en-scène and Soundtrack in In the Mood for Love

Abstract

Motion pictures and the art of movie making started communicating with the audience and entertaining people decades before the first movie with dialogues came into existence. Pre-eminent directors and movie maestros reveled in the art of expressing emotions through their cinematic pieces without explicitly constructing them into dialogues. Wong Kar-wai, Chinese film director, is one such movie maker who gives his creations the wholeness and beauty of a painting. Through “In the Mood for Love”, “2046”, “Chungking express”, “Happy Together” etc. Wong Kar-wai, held art house audiences across the entire globe captive in his enigmatically beguiling form of art. His films are noted for its rhythmic unveiling of plot, photographic and semi-mask techniques and an intense personal flare. In the Mood for Love, often referred to as one of the greatest cinematic productions of the era, instantly earned the title of being a chef-d'oeuvre with its unconventional take on a rather conventional story. The movie, starring Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Maggie Cheung Man-yuk, is deemed to be a classic for its unsurpassable cinematography, hauntingly messianic soundtrack and transfixing mise-en-scène which act as the major mediums through which the characters communicate their inner lives to the audience.