2. In the Mood For Love (2000)
Wong Kar-wai's exquisite romantic drama might be beautifully stylised and more than a little quirky, but that doesn't mean it can't have its finger on the pulse of relationships, whether they're set in the 1960s or in the present day. Tony Leung plays Chow Mo-wan, a journalist who, in 1962, rents an apartment on the same day that his next door neighbour, Su Li-zhen (Maggie Cheung) does. The two slowly begin to bond over the fact that their spouses are absent for long periods due to work, though soon enough they both come to suspect that their partners are having an affair with each other. To pass the time and sooth the angst, the two decide to re-enact together how this affair might have begun, while not acting on any physical urges for feeling that this would reduce them to the same level of depravity as their respective partners. Of course, feelings do develop, and when Chow gets a job in Singapore, he asks Su to come with him, but when she runs late, she misses him. Su later pursues Chow in Singapore, but cannot bring herself to talk to him. The third encounter - or rather, non-encounter - occurs three years later, when Su returns to her old apartment, looking to rent it. Chow then also returns to visit his own landlords next door, but finds that they have emigrated. He talks to Su's new landlord, who tells him that a woman and her her son are living next door, but Chow never realises that this is, in fact, Su and her son. It's a devastating but brilliant film about how chance can both generate a spark, and then, of course, deny it. Bittersweet and completely unforgettable, this is one of the best films of its type.