It was a turbulent moment.
She bowed her head, giving him the opportunity to move closer.
But he couldn't, because he lacked courage.
She turned and walked away.
Those are the opening lines of a sad and haunting love song - with a slow, meticulous and rhythmic tempo by director Wong Kar-wai, through the delicate acting of Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung.
Maggie Cheung as Su Li-zhen and Tony Leung as Chu Mo-man
And that love story ends, just like how it began, with lines of nostalgia and regret, perhaps when the character Chu Mo Van is old and remembers the old, painful memories:
He misses those bygone days.
Like looking through a dusty window pane
The past is something he can see, but not touch.
And everything he saw was blurry and tarnished.
May 20, 2000,Mood when in love(In the mood for love), or the original name isFlowers in the form of annual flowers(Happy Years Pass Like Flower Petals), premiered at the 53rd Cannes Film Festival. To this day, the film is still considered one of the best works of Asian cinema of all time, making international film critics admire and being rated as the best film of the 21st century.
More than 21 years have passed, on September 6, 2021, the production company Jet Tone Films owned by Wong Kar-wai announced that the Hong Kong director has converted some scenes that never appeared on screen inMood when in loveinto a short film in the form of an NFT (non-fungible token - a unit of data encoded on the blockchain that represents a unique asset). These are all scenes shot on the first day of filming - March 19, 1999, and hence the nameIn the Mood For Love - Day One(In the Mood for Love - First Day). The work will be auctioned through Sotheby's, a prestigious brokerage and auction house founded in the mid-18th century.
According to Sotheby's,In the Mood for Love - Day Onewill feature "rare footage of Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung, offering a very different perspective on the classic love story from the original film. This unique work of art celebrates the pivotal and magical moment when the creative idea was first conceived, and marks the first Asian film NFT ever offered at international auctions."
Teaser of the short film In the Mood for Love - Day One
Director Wong Kar-wai shares, "All creations originate from a single thought. The Prajnaparamita Sutra teaches,In one thought there are ninety instants. Each instant goes through nine hundred births and deaths.. The first thought that comes to mindMood when in loveWhere did it come from? Hard to say. What is certain is that February 13, 1999, was the first day I put that idea into action. The first day of a film is like the first date with the lover of my dreams - filled with fear and excitement, like skating on thin ice. An arrow never returns to the bow; twenty years on, this arrow is still flying high."
"That arrow can draw a new direction in the blockchain world," director Vuong added, referring to the NFT technology used, "I dedicate it to all of us who will still live and pursue that initial idea in every single moment."
In the Mood For Love - Day Onewill be auctioned on October 9 in Hong Kong as part of Sotheby's Modern Art Sales. On October 10, Sotheby's will continue to hold an event to sell 30 collectibles hand-picked by Wong, including props, costumes, posters, photographs and box sets, each with a certificate and Wong Kar-wai's signature. Notably, among them is the jacket worn by the late actor Leslie Cheung inSpring light shines(1997).
The auction is also a retrospective of Wong Kar-wai's artistic legacy, beginning with 4K restorations of the director's previously released films, includingChongqing Forestand2046.
