Fa yeung nin wah 2000
Love Time is set in 1960s Hong Kong, where two neighbors, Tony Leung and Maggie Cheng, spend a lot of time together in a small and cramped apartment. They suspect that their spouses are having an affair, but they are hesitant to enter into a relationship themselves. Instead, they meet for quiet meals and shy conversations; as they spend time together, they realize that they may truly be meant for each other. However, director Wong, who works without a typical script, allows the cheating story to end in a strangely secretive and unpredictable way. Just as the audience starts to feel the simmering romance, Wong presents a heartbreaking twist. The two supposed lovers seem to understand that even if they orbit each other like two satellites, they can never truly be in the same orbit. This is not unrequited love, but rather reluctant love: Leung and Cheng do everything they can to stay apart, even though fate seems to be pushing them together. Wong captures this odd relationship with choreography that reflects the grace and rhythm of the waltz. Working alongside regular cinematographer Christopher Doyle, Wong watches the couple meet on a narrow staircase in slow motion, complains about the air in dark alleys, and engages in debates that only two true lovers would have in a mysterious manner. Wong cleverly uses music as always, selecting an instrumental track by Nat King Cole that intensifies its impact as it repeats. Each scene in the film is bright and filled with subtly used details that are occasionally scrutinized; the camera captures these details as if secretly watching with a dreamy haze. Chung complements the handsome Leung, who is dressed very attractively and stylishly in all kinds of beautiful outfits, so perfectly that you would prefer them to be together in the end. It’s no wonder they never met; however, the extraordinary effect of their unrealized relationship being emotionally exploited is undeniable.
