Why a masterpiece about secret love was almost named after a noodle dish
In short: Wong Kar-wai’s 2000 romantic drama In the Mood for Love is a landmark of cinema, but its path to the screen was chaotic. Originally conceived as a musical set in Beijing, the film evolved through years of spontaneous shooting, discarded footage, and a title inspired by a Bryan Ferry album.
The film began as a project titled Summer in Beijing, which Wong Kar-wai envisioned as a triptych of stories. After facing difficulties securing permission to film in the city, he abandoned the project, salvaging only one story segment provisionally titled A Story of Food. This narrative, focusing on a man and woman who share secrets and meals, became the heart of what would eventually become In the Mood for Love, transposed to 1960s Hong Kong.
Wong’s production process was famously fluid and demanding. He eschewed traditional scripts, preferring to develop the story during the 15-month shoot. This approach frustrated cinematographer Christopher Doyle, who eventually departed the project, leaving Mark Lee Ping Bin to complete the film. The two cinematographers' distinct styles were blended by Wong’s aesthetic, resulting in a visual language that captured the restrained tension between protagonists Chow Mo-wan and Su Li-zhen. The actors, Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung, spent months navigating the emotional toll of their characters, who mirror the infidelity of their own spouses while struggling to avoid the same betrayal.
The film’s title reflects its serendipitous creation. After discarding names like Secrets, Wong settled on In the Mood for Love after hearing the song of the same name on a Bryan Ferry album. The original Chinese title, Hua Yang De Nian Hua, refers to the fleeting nature of youth and beauty, a metaphor derived from a 1946 song by Zhou Xuan. This blend of nostalgia and spontaneity defines the film, which Wong later compared to Hitchcock’s Vertigo, noting that the audience often overlooks the dark, obsessive nature of the characters' secret reenactments because of the leads' sympathetic performances.
The film’s legacy continues to evolve. In 2020, Wong supervised a 4K restoration that sparked controversy for altering the original color grading and aspect ratios. Wong defended these changes, suggesting that both the films and the audience had changed over time. From its initial premiere at the 53rd Cannes Film Festival to a 2025 Valentine's Day re-release, the film remains a definitive work of Asian cinema.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: In the Mood for Love
- Also: Wikidata — In the Mood for Love · CC0
- Also: Wikidata — In the Mood for Love · CC0
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