"IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE"
(2000) (Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Maggie Cheung Man-yuk) (PG)

Alcohol/ Drugs	Blood/Gore	Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude	Frightening/ Tense Scenes	Guns/ Weapons
Mild	None	Heavy	None	Minor
Imitative Behavior	Jump Scenes	Music (Scary/Tense)	Music (Inappropriate)	Profanity
Minor	None	None	None	Moderate
Sex/ Nudity	Smoking	Tense Family Scenes	Topics To Talk About	Violence
Moderate	Extreme	Moderate	Mild	None

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QUICK TAKE:

Subtitled Romantic Drama: A man and woman start falling for each other when they discover that their respective spouses are having an affair.

PLOT:

It's Hong Kong in 1962, and two young couples are moving into the same apartment building on the same day. Chow Mo-wan (TONY LEUNG CHIU-WAI) is a journalist who'd rather be writing martial arts serials, and his wife, a hotel receptionist, is working and can't help him move in. Mrs. Chan (MAGGIE CHEUNG MAN-YUK), who works as a secretary to Mr. Ho (LAI CHIN) at a shipping company, moves into Mrs. Suen's (REBECCA PAN) place, but her husband is reportedly out of town on a business trip and thus can't help her.

As the two get comfortable in their respective apartments, Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan occasionally interact, with each noting that the other's spouse never seems to be around. While they may suspect that something suspicious is going on, the two always end up making excuses for the whereabouts and behavior of their partners.

That changes when Chow's friend, Ah Ping (SIU PING-IAM), informs him that he saw his wife with another man, and after Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan have dinner and come to the realization that their spouses are having an affair with each other. The two then become closer friends and as they discuss the various aspects of the unseen affair, they start to fall for each other. From that point on, they must figure out how to handle their feelings for one another.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?

Those of Asian descent or who are fans of/interested in Asian films with Asian characters might, but it's highly unlikely that most other kids will want to see it.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG

For thematic elements and brief language.

CAST AS ROLE MODELS:

TONY LEUNG CHIU-WAI plays a journalist who finds himself falling for a married woman after learning that her husband and his wife are having an affair. He smokes throughout the film.

MAGGIE CHEUNG MAN-YUK plays the married woman he falls for, a secretary who must sort out her feelings toward him.

REBECCA PAN plays their friendly landlord.

LAI CHIN plays Mrs. Chan's boss.

SIU PING-IAM plays Mr. Chan's friend who evidently is a regular customer of an unseen prostitute.

CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE

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Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit?
Then read OUR TAKE of this film.

(Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below).

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OUR WORD TO PARENTS:

Here's a quick look at the content found in this PG-rated drama. Although we never see any such behavior, we learn that the respective spouses of the central characters are having an affair with each other. That, of course, creates some tense family scenes, but there's no direct confrontation between the guilty and cheated-upon parties.

There's some very brief, sexually related talk (including the use of the term "laid"), some of it involving a supporting character evidently being a regular customer of a prostitute. Beyond that, one character smokes throughout the film, and one minor character is seen drunk. The rest of the film's remaining categories, however, have little or nothing in the way of other objectionable content. Nevertheless, should you still be concerned about the film's content, we suggest that you more closely examine our detailed content listings for more specific examples of what occurs in the film.

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ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE

We hear someone mention for a servant to give several dining residents some beer with dinner. *There's some talk about a person being drunk and we then briefly see several people helping a drunken man through a hallway. Someone then mentions that he's drunk as usual. *We see what looks like a bottle of liquor next to Mr. Chow and his friend while they eat.

BLOOD/GORE

None.

DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE

Although we never see any direct evidence of it nor much of the participants themselves, the spouses of Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan are having an affair. *Both Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan tell others various white lies so as to avoid looking as if they're having an affair themselves (they're not).

FRIGHTENING SCENES

None.

GUNS/WEAPONS

In some brief newsreel type footage, we see some military types carrying rifles during an official government ceremony.

IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR

Phrases: "Get laid" (sexual).

JUMP SCENES

None.

MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE)

None.

MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE)

None.

PROFANITY

There is one slang term for sex ("laid") and 2 uses of "damn" in the film (all in English subtitles).

SEX/NUDITY

Although we don't see it, the spouses of Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan are having an affair. *Although it never manifests itself in a physical sense, there is sexual tension between Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan (although younger viewers probably won't pick up on that). *After Ping states that he visited what's presumably a prostitute, Mr. Chow tells Ping that he (the friend) is in no shape for sex. Ping then says something about wanting to improve his luck (after losing at gambling) and the two then talk about whether one can visit a prostitute (not directly said) on credit and Ping states that he's a regular with some such woman. *After Mr. Chow talks about finding some hole to tell a secret into, Ping makes some comment (related or not) saying he'd go just to "get laid" (in English subtitles).

SMOKING

Mr. Chow smokes throughout the film, while Mrs. Chan and Ping each smoke once and a few miscellaneous characters also smoke.

TENSE FAMILY SCENES

Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan react to their respective spouses having an affair with each other, but there's no direct confrontation with either spouse. *What looks like Mrs. Chan confronting her husband about having a mistress turns out to be her practicing with Mr. Chow for doing just that sometime later (although that never occurs).

TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT

Affairs and the different ways in which the cheated-upon parties react. *Whether it would have been wrong for Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan to become romantically involved (evolving from their friendship formed upon learning that their spouses were having an affair with each other).

VIOLENCE

None.

Reviewed February 9, 2000 / Posted February 23, 2001

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