![in the mood for love soundtrack in the mood for love soundtrack](https://d3tvwjfge35btc.cloudfront.net/Assets/GalleryImage/25/732/L_g0051273225.jpg)
These sequences depict Su and Chow in various stages of their emerging relationship: acquaintances passing each other down a narrow corridor comforting friends yearning lovers who have developed real feelings for each other. Each time it is featured during the narrative it takes up several minutes, often forcing the film into slow motion. ‘Yumeji’s Theme’ plays nine times throughout the film’s run-time, and not just for a few seconds in the background of a scene. He had experimented with the convention to an extent in his previous films, CHUNGKING EXPRESS, and HAPPY TOGETHER, but it is in IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE where he uses this motif most consciously.
![in the mood for love soundtrack in the mood for love soundtrack](https://www.soundtrack.net/img/movie/12380.jpg)
To gain a deeper understanding of Wong Kar Wai’s use of ‘Yumeji’s Theme’, it is important to note obsessively repeating one song wasn’t anything new to him by the time he made IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE. We’re given a new, deeper understanding of the scene, and the pain the characters are going through. However, when that moment of realisation comes, and the scene is shown to be a farce, that disapproval turns into heart-wrenching sadness, as what the audience is really witnessing is two people struggle to understand their partners’ betrayal. Set up to tease the audience, these scenes suggest that the pair are no better than their partners, resorting to getting back at them the simplest way possible: to have an affair of their own. Upon realising this, the viewer must then change their perception of the scenes. What is fascinating about these scenes is that the viewer is often unaware that the scene playing out is a recreation: Su and Chow’s investigation into their partners’ infidelity. The film’s director, Wong Kar-Wai, explores Su and Chow’s obscure relationship shrewdly in subtle but painful scenes that involve them recreating how they think their spouses met and began their secret relationship. IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE is set in 1960s Hong Kong and chronicles the brief relationship between neighbours Chow Mo-wan (Tony Leung Chiu-wai) and Su Li-zhen (Maggie Cheung), who realise their respective partners are having an affair with one another. First appearing a mere four minutes and ten seconds into the film, the viewer is unaware of the truly heart-breaking nature of the story that is about to unfold, and the role the song will play in the understanding of the film. On top of that, the haunting aura that the song emanates feels strange and unwarranted. After all, Umebiyashi originally composed ‘Yumeji’s Theme’ for Suzuki Seijun’s 1991 feature, YUMEJI. Surprisingly, the first time it comes up in the film, it feels out of place, almost contrapuntal to the images on-screen. Umebayashi Shigeru’s sad waltz ‘Yumeji’s Theme’ is a short, hypnotic string arrangement that sounds both beautiful and unsettling, thanks to the harrowing isolated violin melody at the song’s core. For some that could be because of the melancholic story, for many it is most likely because of the beautiful cinematography, or it could be a song that features throughout the film and seeps into your skin. Wong Kar-Wai’s IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE lingers with the viewer after they have seen it.