In the Mood came out in Adelaide last week. After the shenannigans of missing the sold-out preview, I finally saw it two days ago. I have ideas about the nature of the style but they're still forming. Does anyone agree with me that In the Mood is reminisceint of Vivre sa vie (dissonance in style) and L'Eclisse (dissatisfaction/alienation thematics)? Both were made in 1962, when In the Mood's story begins. The Cambodian narrative at the end features footage of De Gaulle. Why? The year is 1966, roughly the end of La Nouvelle Vague. Is this resonating for anyone? I don't know what I'm trying to say about what WKW is trying to say, but perhaps something is being said about continental influence in South-East Asian history leading to an influence in cinematic style (especially WKW's own influences). I enjoyed the film a lot and if it marks a shift in the stylistic interests of WKW, I look forward to seeing where he goes from here. Does anyone know why Chris Doyle is merely the co-cinematographer? Something that immensely annoyed a friend was the lack of the song, In the Mood for Love; the Brian Ferry version heard in the previews. He was really pissed off. But the Nat King Cole selection sat with me very well. One dramatic difference from the old WKW was the abundant use of repetition and ellipsis. There seems to be a large focus on rhythm and, dare I say it, revealing of narrative in a decidedly Hou Hsiao-hsien like manner. Perhaps Doyle got a little irritated at all this formalism. :-/