Directed by Wong Kar-wai, with cinematography by Christopher Doyle, what is there left to say about this far from minor masterpiece about a woman and a man who share noodles and secrets?
Style and substance consummated unlike the main protagonists. ‘La vraie vie est absente’ and if you were a thriller freak you would ask for your money back as all the action is off screen and elsewhere.
Life may be absent but what’s definitely not absent is the magnificent, sometimes sumptuous art direction and cinematography, the assured direction and some of the most sublimely understated acting in the history of cinema anywhere.
Very present too is one of the most haunting soundtracks that turned the clean lines of Nat King Cole into the unforgettable King of the art house. Extended melodies of unfulfilled longing. Sometimes it’s the things you don’t do that stay with you the longest.
Quizás, Quizás, Quizás or is that the regret of not regretting?
This movie, as alluring as the seductive curves of Maggie Cheung’s cheekbones, sways and seduces like Miss Cheung herself in her tight and vividly printed cheongsams. This movie is a sensuous delight to the eyes, the ears, the senses and the mind wrought by director and cinematographer into distinctive and durable visual style.
Whisper the delicious secret of this movie into a hollow in the wall before plugging it with mud and walking away. This is a movie pleasure that lasts a lifetime.
Luger
