Year 2000: In the Mood For Love

There are films that you can tell immediately if the characters belong together. Not just by their movements and gestures but there is something chemically right between them that makes them meant for each other. The two neighbors from a packed tenement in Hong Kong (played by Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung) are obviously two star crossed lovers. You want them to get together and leave their respective partners, after all, they were lied and cheated by them. Wong Kar Wai's "In the Mood for Love" shows the art of bridled passion, the "thrill of the chaste" and the tragedy of resisted love. Literally restrained as the main characters only shared sweet and innocent interludes together such as conversations and nothing else. With its beautiful cinematography by Kar Wai's regular collaborator Christopher Doyle we see a whole new definition to still life landscapes and long shots played under the gorgeous music of Shigeru Umebayashi and Michael Galasso. Although a heartbreaking piece nonetheless this is one of the most romantic movies of all time.