Wong Kar-wai is a mood. Honestly, there isn’t really any other way to describe it. When you watch the In the Mood for Love movie trailer, you aren't just looking at a preview for a 2000 Hong Kong drama. You’re stepping into a humid, claustrophobic, and utterly beautiful dreamscape of 1962 Hong Kong. It’s a vibe. A specific, aching feeling of "what if" that most modern trailers, with their loud "BWONG" noises and rapid-fire cuts, completely fail to capture.
People still search for this trailer. They look it up on YouTube because they want to feel that specific pull of Shigeru Umebayashi’s "Yumeji’s Theme." It’s that waltz. That repetitive, hypnotic string melody that tells you everything you need to know about Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung’s doomed, quiet connection before a single word is spoken.
The sheer texture of the In the Mood for Love movie trailer
Most trailers try to tell you the plot. This one doesn't care about your need for a linear narrative. Instead, it gives you the rustle of a cheongsam (qipao) against a narrow hallway. It gives you the steam rising from a noodle cup in the rain.
The In the Mood for Love movie trailer works because it understands that desire isn't about the payoff; it's about the tension. Christopher Doyle and Mark Lee Ping-bin, the cinematographers, used a palette that feels like it’s bruised. Deep reds, tobacco yellows, and murky greens. In the 4K restoration trailer released by Janus Films a few years back, these colors are even more aggressive. They pop.
It’s slow.
If you’re used to the Marvel style of editing, the pacing of Wong Kar-wai’s promotional material might feel like it’s standing still. But that’s the point. It mirrors the lives of Su Li-zhen and Chow Mo-wan. They are stuck. They’re trapped by the suffocating social norms of their time and the realization that their respective spouses are having an affair with each other.
The trailer highlights this "rehearsal" of confrontation. We see them practicing how they will ask their partners about the cheating. It’s meta. It’s heartbreaking. You see two people falling in love while pretending to be the people who are hurting them.
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Why the 4K restoration changed the conversation
In 2020, for the 20th anniversary, Criterion and Janus Films dropped a new version of the In the Mood for Love movie trailer. This wasn't just a cleanup job. It sparked a massive debate among cinephiles. Wong Kar-wai famously tinkered with the color grading.
Some purists hated it. They felt the new green tint shifted the emotional weight of certain scenes. But for a new generation of viewers on TikTok and Instagram, the updated trailer became aesthetic gold. It’s the "Cigarette Wife" aesthetic. It’s the loneliness of the big city.
The restoration trailer proves that film isn't a static thing. It’s alive. Even if you’ve seen the movie fifty times, the way the trailer frames the smoke curling from Tony Leung’s cigarette makes it feel like a premiere.
The music that did all the heavy lifting
You can’t talk about this trailer without the music. You just can’t.
While "Yumeji’s Theme" is the heavy hitter, the inclusion of Nat King Cole’s "Quizás, Quizás, Quizás" (Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps) in the marketing is a stroke of genius. It’s a song about indecision.
- It’s playful.
- It’s Spanish.
- It feels out of place in 1960s Hong Kong, yet it fits perfectly.
This juxtaposition is exactly what Wong Kar-wai excels at. The trailer uses these tracks to bridge the gap between the East and the West, making the film feel universal. It doesn't matter if you don't speak Cantonese or Shanghainese. You understand the "Perhaps."
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What most people miss in the editing
There’s a specific shot in many versions of the In the Mood for Love movie trailer where the two leads pass each other on a narrow staircase. They don't touch. They barely look at each other.
In any other movie, that’s a transition shot. In this trailer, it’s the climax.
The editing focuses on the "in-between" moments. Usually, trailers cut out the "dead air." Here, the dead air is the meat of the story. The slow-motion (step-printing) technique creates a blurred, shimmering effect that makes the characters look like they are underwater. It’s beautiful. It’s also deeply sad.
Many people think the movie is a romance. The trailer, if you look closely, tells you it’s a horror movie about missed opportunities. It’s about the ghost of a life you could have had.
Actionable ways to experience the mood
If you’ve just watched the In the Mood for Love movie trailer and you’re feeling that weird, melancholy ache, don't just let it sit there.
First, go find the 4K restoration trailer and compare it to the original 2000 theatrical version. The difference in lighting tells a story in itself about how film preservation works—and how directors can’t stop fiddling with their masterpieces.
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Second, look for the "deleted scenes" often hinted at in various international trailers. There are versions of this story where the characters meet again in later years, or where the affair is more explicit. Wong Kar-wai shot enough footage to make three different movies. The trailer we see is just one sliver of the "Mood."
Finally, listen to the soundtrack on vinyl or high-quality audio if you can. The textures of the strings in the trailer are condensed; hearing the full depth of the cello in "Yumeji’s Theme" is the only way to truly exit the dream the trailer builds.
Don't expect a happy ending. The trailer doesn't promise one, and the movie won't give you one. It just gives you a memory. And sometimes, as the film suggests, that’s all we really own.
The best way to digest this is to watch it late at night. No phone. No distractions. Just let the colors wash over you. If you’re a creator, pay attention to how they use silence. It’s louder than any dialogue.
Check out the Criterion Collection’s "World of Wong Kar-wai" box set if you want the full context. It’s the definitive way to see how this specific trailer fits into a larger, sprawling cinematic universe of longing and missed connections.