In the Mood for Love

In 1962 British Hong Kong, Shanghainese expatriates Chow Mo-wan, a journalist, and Su Li-zhen (Mrs. Chan), a secretary at a shipping company, rent rooms in adjacent apartments. Each has a spouse who often works late, leaving them alone during overtime shifts. Due to the friendly but overbearing presence of Su's Shanghainese landlady, Mrs. Suen, and their bustling, mahjong-playing neighbours, Chow and Su are frequently left alone in their rooms and rarely dine with the other tenants. Although they are initially polite out of necessity, they grow closer as they realise their spouses are having an affair with each other. Chow notices that his wife owns a handbag available only overseas—one that Su's husband had purchased for her. Su, in turn, observes that her husband wears a tie identical to one Chow owns, a gift from Chow's wife. As they piece together the truth, they begin to reenact how the affair may have begun. While both accept that their spouses have betrayed them, they strive to avoid making the same mistake themselves. Chow invites Su to help him write a martial arts serial. Their increased time together draws the attention of their neighbours, prompting Chow to rent a hotel room where they can work in private. As time passes, they acknowledge their growing feelings for each other. They continue reenacting scenes from their spouses' affair, but the emotional toll unsettles Su. They sometimes stop speaking, only to reconnect later. When Chow receives a job offer in Singapore, he asks Su to come with him. She agrees, but arrives at the hotel too late and breaks down in his empty room. The following year, in Singapore, Chow tells a friend an old story: when someone had a secret, they would climb a mountain, carve a hollow in a tree, whisper the secret into it, and seal it with mud. Su later visits Chow's apartment in Singapore. She calls him but says nothing when he answers. Afterward, Chow notices a lipstick-stained cigarette butt in his ashtray and realises she had been there. Three years later, Su visits Mrs. Suen, who is preparing to immigrate to the United States, and inquires about renting her old apartment. Some time afterward, Chow returns to Hong Kong to visit his former landlords, the Koos, who have moved to the Philippines. He asks about the Suen family next door, and the new owner informs him that a woman and her son now live there. Chow leaves. During the Vietnam War, Chow travels to Cambodia and visits Angkor Wat. As a monk looks on, he whispers into a hollow in a wall and seals it with mud.

Plot from In the Mood for LoveCC BY-SA 4.0