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It was a moment of turmoil.
She lowered her head, giving him a chance to move closer.
But he couldn't, because he lacked courage.
She turned and walked away.
These are the opening lines of a poignant and melancholic love song – with the slow, meticulous, and rhythmic tempo of director Wong Kar-wai, and the subtle performances of Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung.
Maggie Cheung as Su Li Zhen and Tony Leung as Zhou Mu Wen
And that love story ends, just as it began, with nostalgic and regretful words, perhaps when the character Chu Mu Wen is old and remembers the old memories with a pang of longing:
He remembered those days gone by.
It was like looking through a window pane covered in dust.
The past is something he can see, but cannot touch.
And everything he saw was blurry and stained.
May 20, 2000,Mood when in love(In the mood for love), or its original title isFlowering form(The Happy Years Fade Away Like a Flower Petal), premiered at the 53rd Cannes Film Festival. To this day, the film is still considered one of the greatest works of Asian cinema of all time, admired by international film critics and hailed as one of the top films of the 21st century.
More than 21 years later, on September 6, 2021, Jet Tone Films, the production company owned by Wong Kar-wai, announced that the Hong Kong director had adapted some scenes from his film that had never appeared on screen before.Mood when in loveIt was transformed into a short film in the form of an NFT (non-fungible token - a data unit encoded on the blockchain representing a unique asset). These scenes were all filmed on the first day of shooting - March 19, 1999, and are therefore named as such.In the Mood For Love - Day One(In the Mood for Love - The First Day). The work will be auctioned through Sotheby's, a prestigious brokerage and auction house established in the mid-18th century.
According to Sotheby's,In the Mood for Love - Day OneIt will feature "rare footage of actors Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung, offering a very different perspective on the classic love story compared to the original film. This unique work of art is a commemorative gift for the important and magical moment when the creative idea was first conceived, and marks the first Asian film in NFT format ever offered for sale at international auctions."
This is the teaser for the short film In the Mood for Love - Day One.
Director Wong Kar-wai shared, "All creativity originates from a single thought. As the Prajnaparamita Sutra teaches,In one moment there are ninety instants. Each instant undergoes nine hundred cycles of birth and death.The first thought that led toMood when in loveWhere did it originate? It's hard to say. What's certain is that February 13, 1999, was the first day I turned that idea into action. The first day of a film is like a first date with your dream lover—full of fear and excitement, like ice skating on thin ice. An arrow never returns to the bow; twenty years later, this arrow is still flying high."
"That arrow could chart a new course in the blockchain world," director Wang added, referring to the NFT technology used, "I dedicate this to all of us who will continue to live and pursue that initial vision in every single moment."
In the Mood For Love - Day OneThe items will be auctioned on October 9th in Hong Kong as part of Sotheby's Morden Art Sales. On October 10th, Sotheby's will continue the sale with 30 collectible items personally selected by director Wong Kar-wai, including props, costumes, posters, photographs, and box sets, each item bearing a certificate and Wong Kar-wai's signature. Notably, among them is a jacket once worn by the late Leslie Cheung.Springtime light shines brightly(1997).
The auction also served as a retrospective look at Wong Kar-wai's artistic legacy, beginning with the 4K restoration of the director's previously released films, includingChongqing Forestand2046.
