In the Mood for Love (2000)

Country: Hong Kong
Director: Wong Kar-wai
Screenwriter: Wong Kar-wai
Stars: Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung, Siu Ping Lam, Rebecca Pan

The second part of an informal trilogy, Wong Kar-wai's In the Mood for Love follows two neighbors who discover that their spouses are having an affair, and the ensuing romance that blossoms out of their friendship.

The story takes place during the conservative 60's in a Hong Kong that's full of chic dresses, doll house-like sets, and saturated neon palettes that makes it quite simply one of the most beautiful movies ever filmed. The film's strenuous 15 month shoot went through two directors of photography and miles of footage. In fact, it was only fully assembled weeks before the date to submit it to Cannes, where it won the Technical Grand Prize, and went on to win dozens of others around the world, breaking hearts as it did so. —GT