s the wave of Capitalism and Western-Influence redefines the identity of an individual from what one does to what one has, meaningful actions of affection and humanity have devolved into a form of stunted communication through inanimate objects and possessions ultimately reframing man’s collective psyche around a material-centric, debaucherous hedonism. Each character in the 2000 film In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar-Wai) reflects a society obsessed with materialism and self-indulgence both rooted in the universal desire for permeance and longevity. Characters hide behind props, passed the edges of a frame, and under seemingly restraining, formal clothing suggesting the façade many employ through accessories. The two estranged neighbors long for something more than their respective adulterous marriages inundated with objects lacking sentimental depth as they are often framed between suffocating walls, through ornate mirrors, or reflective glass panes. The cinematography expresses a prevailing artificiality and filtered interaction common in the modern-age. characters Chow Mo-wan (Tony Leung) and Su Li-zhen (Maggie Cheung) illustrate a world lacking transparency as possession mask their true personas and pry the void that separates each character. Restrained in their understanding of healthy communication, the long periods of silence and musical interludes reveals the inability to recognize emptiness and partiality toward indulgence through food or clothing.

          Possessions have become a defining feature when considering the role it plays in characterizing an individual. In the case of this film, objects become a conduit for conversation as well as an obscurant widening the gap between each character while implying the false notion that they bring them together. In an early scene Chow and Su are scrambling to move their belongings into their new rooms. These props of packed cupboard, shelves, and clothes are taking up most of the frame as they are being moved along the Z-axis. This pushes Chow and Su to the edges of the frame putting them both at a distance from one another as it cuts back between the two of them. The constant confusion of objects wedded with the sheer excess of their ownership signifies that gluttonous behavior can deter potentially meaningful connection. The costumes and accessories occupy an essential role in defining the characters and subsequently the lack of value artificial objects in a meaningful relationship. Chow is often depicted with ties (apparently purchased abroad by his wife) patterned with lines and geometric shapes revealing that relationships on the basis of materials and items are more stringently compartmentalized into roles and can be perceived and plainly black-n-white where in reality there are many layers and overlap in a healthy relationship.

          Many interactions in the modern-age are filtered through screens and digested via proxy. The film announces the laborious nature of honest connection through scene depicting Chow and Su struggle to communicate however sense the residual comfort of their attempts to find something new. Though their longing resounds throughout the film, the main characters are confined to perpetuating their manufactured artifice as they handle the scrutiny of the world. Furthermore, in confining the characters in a frame within the frame, the film brings attention to the entrapment of materials and the way it stringently defines a person. Through the reflective glass mirrors, the characters visages are depicted from multiple angles within the same frame. This creates a sense of duality between what the characters honestly want and what is expected creating this conflict of being true to one’s own desires.

          Distraught by their slow realizations of their spouses’ infidelity, the montages of missed connections or distant solation while Shigeru Umebayashi’s Yumeji’Theme establishes the difficulty of bridging the gap toward sincere and raw connection. The film establishes this montage through scenes of gambling and isolate indulgence As Su and Chow struggle to find where they fit in with each other. This contrast characterizes man’s own hedonism as one attempts to fill an emptiness (initially created by materialism) with possession. The camera glides smoothly through space as movement slows down. Though slow and steady, the determined movement of the camera is contrasted with the hesitation within their performances as each action lingers on with no real compromise. The flow of the camera as it pans, pushes, and pulls reflect the potential of free determination in the limited and minute moments of life. Despite the possibilities, their performances resonate on a frequency that echo the common fear of seizing a moment as it is easier for one to hide behind purchases and silence.

          As the film concludes, the audience is presented with the ultimate symbol of permanence through objects. As Chow finds himself in Cambodia the film ends with grand and sweeping shots of the Cambodian temples. They stand worn and weathered yet stoic as time passes. These temples represent the ideal prospect of possessing material. These temples however are depicted conversely to those meaningless objects that the characters utilize as gifts. The ruins are vast and archaic holding history as opposed to the empty relationship that Chow and Su have left behind. Even the act of concealing a secret in the walls with mud characterizes human relationship as shallow. The audience is forced sit with the landscapes and                     meditate on the fleetingness of life in a world where the objects we create outlive us.

Being released at the turn or the new millennium, In the Mood for Love defines humanity and twenty-first century relationships by the many filters one chooses to place between themselves and the scrutinies of the world. As the popularity of consumerism grows larger and concepts such as the internet presence and online dating welcome new generations of people to a culture of filtered interaction, the combine psyche faces a dilemma of deceit. Kar-Wai attempts to bring visibility to the missed opportunities that the preoccupations with “stuff” can cause. He calls for more truthful recognition of false idols and artificial objects that many choose to define themselves by.