1960s

TÊTE-BÊCHE

In In the Mood for Love, love is framed by the night. The majority of encounters between the two protagonists take place during this time, and the director marks the passage of time through subtle details. For instance, in the scene where they dine together at a restaurant, everything remains the same—the place, the food, the music—but the change in Su Li-zhen’s qipao reveals that several meetings have occurred, even though only one scene is shown. In reality, this meal is repeated three times.

The film is inspired by the novel Tête-bêche by Liu Yichang, mentioned at the beginning and the end of the film. The term «tête-bêche» comes from philately and describes two stamps attached to each other but inverted. In the novel, Liu Yichang uses this metaphor to describe the relationship between an elderly man, nostalgic for Shanghai, and a young girl dreaming of Hong Kong, thereby connecting past and future, Shanghai and Hong Kong. In In the Mood for Love, this dynamic is reflected in the relationship between Mr. Chow and Su Li-zhen, who investigate their respective spouses’ infidelities but end up falling in love with each other.

The film is also connected to the Argentine writer Julio Cortázar, who enjoyed disrupting the linear structure of time. Here, the relationship between Mr. Chow and Su Li-zhen follows a circular pattern typical of Cortázar: they move from seeking evidence of infidelity to the temptation to betray themselves. This time loop, where the beginning meets the end, reflects a form of tragic fatalism. Moreover, in the film, we never see the faces of Mr. Chow and Su Li-zhen’s spouses, and these two characters are also played by Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung, reinforcing this idea of a loop.

The film’s iconic musical theme, Yumeji’s Theme by Shigeru Umebayashi, is a waltz, which means «going in circles,» emphasizing this sense of repetition. The relationship between Mr. Chow and Su Li-zhen also follows this cyclical structure: it ends in a deadlock, bringing the characters back to their starting point. This theme of regret and missed timing runs through several of Wong Kar-wai’s films, where: «love is all a matter of timing. It’s no good meeting the right person… too soon or too late» (2046). 

2046

In 2046, the sequel to In the Mood for Love, Mr. Chow is a man trapped in his memories and regrets, unable to detach himself from his past. Although Su Li-zhen, played by Maggie Cheung, appears briefly, she remains at the center of the story. Mr. Chow, obsessed with her memory, seeks her shadow in all the women he meets. In the film, he writes a science fiction novel where the characters all try to reach a place called «2046» to regain their past. 2046 seems to represent the future, but in reality, it symbolizes a return to the past, a metaphor for Mr. Chow’s memories.

Wong Kar-wai’s films often link personal emotions to the historical context in which they are set. For example, Yuddy’s sense of rootlessness in Days of Being Wild reflects the identity quest of an illegitimate child. Born in the Philippines, he immigrated from Shanghai to Hong Kong, symbolizing the uncertainty of the city itself. 

Similarly, in In the Mood for Love, Wong Kar-wai incorporates historical images, such as Charles de Gaulle’s visit to Cambodia in 1966, evoking the end of a colonial era. Even for Days of Being Wild, he explained: «it’s the simple coincidence between a major event and a very intimate situation»*.

In 2046, the passage of time is even more pronounced. The apartment 2046, where Mr. Chow keeps the memories of his love for Su Li-zhen, becomes a metaphor for frozen time. The year 2046 itself is symbolic: it is the year when the promise that Hong Kong’s political system would remain unchanged for 50 years after the handover in 1997 expires. Wong Kar-wai questions through this film: what remains unchanged over time?

A key quote from 2046 comes from the novel The Drunkard by Liu Yichang: «All memories are traces of tears» (所有的記憶都是潮濕的). This phrase reflects a central idea of Wong Kar-wai: memory is sensory, experienced through touch and emotions. 

In Wong Kar-wai’s films, time becomes a vessel of memory and history, always explored in an intimate and sensory manner.

While Wong Kar-wai films places, time, and history, he primarily focuses on the inner emotional landscape of his characters. Hong Kong, a city that continuously absorbs its past, becomes the setting in which the characters try to preserve their memories. The 1960s, a period often revisited in his films, seem to be a moment preserved in time, less easily swallowed by the frantic pace of change.