In the Mood for Love (2000)

  You guys, I'm so bad at Mondays.  And there was a holiday in the middle of the week, even.  I still could not get this post out.  Hopefully, it will just be an extra one today.

A pair of neighbors in 1960s Hong Kong, Mrs. Chan (Maggie Cheung) and Mr. Chow (Tony Leung), discover that their respective spouses are having an affair so they decide to have one as well.  What begins as a therapeutic revenge quickly grows into actual feelings and thus, a dilemma.

This film launched Wong Kar-Wai into international acclaim and it's easy to see why.  It's a visual feast, even if I felt some of the shots to be jarring.  I also dislike jazz and that seems to be the comparison everyone makes to this film, so your mileage may vary.  It's worth it for the costumes alone but also the desperately restrained longing between Cheung and Leung is just *chef's kiss*.  I hate romantic dramas with a passion (ha!) and I liked this film.  People who enjoy that sort of thing are going to be over the moon.  It's currently streaming on Criterion, HBO Max, and Kanopy.