In the Mood for Love (2000)
Feel the heat, keep the feeling burning, let the sensation explode.
In 1960s Hong Kong, two neighbors form an intimate bond after making a discovery about their spouses in this visually stunning tale of unrequited love.
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| Type | Movie |
|---|---|
| Released | 29 September 2000 |
| Genre | Drama, Romance |
| Director | Wong Kar-wai |
| Starring | Maggie Cheung Man-yuk, Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Siu Ping-lam |
| Runtime | 99 min |
| Rated | PG |
| Scores | Rotten Tomatoes (average) 7.9/10 · Rotten Tomatoes 92% · Metacritic 87/100 · IMDb 8.0/10 · TMDB users 8.1/10 |
| Box office | $14 million worldwide |
Where to watch In the Mood for Love
In the Mood for Love is streaming on Max ($18.49 a month) in the US. If that is the only reason to subscribe, one month of Max is $18.49 at list price.
We check availability daily. Page last updated 1 November 2026. Prices are standard monthly plans and change often, so check with the service before you sign up.
Rent or buy
You can rent or buy In the Mood for Love on Apple TV, Prime Video, Google Play, YouTube and Fandango at Home.
Where to watch In the Mood for Love in 6 other countries
| Country | Streaming on (price a month) |
|---|---|
| France | Max €10.99 |
| Hong Kong | Disney+ HK$88 |
| Japan | Netflix ¥1590 JPY, U-NEXT ¥2189 JPY |
| Monaco | Max |
| South Korea | Netflix ₩13500, Disney+ ₩9900, Wavve ₩10900, Watcha, Tving ₩10900 |
| Spain | Prime Video €4.99, Filmin €9.99 |
Subscription, free and ad-supported services we track; prices where Binge Boss has a price list for the country. "About" marks a price the service bills in another currency, converted at the day's rate. All countries as data.
What kind of watch this is
Wong Kar-wai’s 2000 drama runs 99 minutes and captures the specific weight of a glance that goes too long. The film focuses on the distance between two people who want to be together but refuse to be. It is a study in restraint, where the most important actions happen in the negative space between characters. The cinematography makes the 1960s setting feel like a sealed room. It is not a movie about passion. It is a movie about the effort required to suppress it.
What the critics said
Rotten Tomatoes assigns a 92% approval rating as of August 2024, based on 191 reviews. Metacritic lands on 87 out of 100, a score that signals universal acclaim. Roger Ebert called it a lush story of unrequited love. Elvis Mitchell named it probably the most breathtakingly gorgeous film of the year. High praise, but not unanimous. Peter Walker of The Guardian called it his favorite, noting its profound reflections on loneliness. The consensus is that it is a somber evolution of Wong Kar-wai's style. Critics agree the photography is beautiful and the performances masterly. It is a film that breaks your heart with its delicacy.
How it did with audiences
In the United States, it earned $3 million. Worldwide, the total box office gross hit US$17 million. That is a modest sum for a film that rewired how audiences think about longing. On TMDB, users give it an 8.1 rating. IMDb stands at 8.0 as of May 2026. The numbers are quiet, but the impact is not.
Awards
It swept 8 awards from 18 nominations. Tony Leung took Best Actor at both Cannes and the Hong Kong Film Awards, while Maggie Cheung claimed the latter’s acting prize. Wong Kar-wai collected three foreign film honors, and Mark Lee Ping Bin won for cinematography. A tidy stack of recognition, which is the only way a film about unspoken longing gets treated.
What came next for the cast
Maggie Cheung moved from the high-octane action of the Police Story duology to the deliberate, poetic stillness of Hero and 2046. Tony Leung traded the kinetic energy of Hard Boiled and Chungking Express for the slow-burn tension of Infernal Affairs, before eventually appearing in a Marvel blockbuster. The credits show a shift in tempo, but they cannot prove that one specific film caused it. That would be a stretch.
Where it left its mark
Critics have described the film as era-defining, noting how it evokes glamour with a streak of grittiness. That specific mood traveled well, touching fashion and social media. Sofia Coppola and Barry Jenkins have cited it as a major influence on their own work. The Daniels also paid homage to Wong Kar-wai's aesthetic in Everything Everywhere All at Once. It left its mark less through plot and more through texture.
If you liked this
TMDB's recommendations for people who watched In the Mood for Love.
Sources
- In the Mood for Love on TMDB — synopsis, cast, ratings and recommendations
- Wikidata Q1056853 — review scores, box office and awards (CC0)
- “In the Mood for Love” on Wikipedia, by its contributors (history) — reception, audience figures and legacy, summarised and adapted here under CC BY-SA 4.0
- Where to watch and prices: Binge Boss, from TMDB watch-provider data (powered by JustWatch) and our own provider list
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