The sustained popularity of In the Mood for Love: Cultural consumption in Britain's reception context

In the Mood for Love (2000) has retained Britain’s attention since its initial release over fifteen years ago. A staple on most undergraduate film studies courses, Wong Kar Wai’s critically lauded production sits at the top of numerous “Greatest Films of all Time” lists and is regularly screened in British cinemas. In tracing the reception of In the Mood for Love, this chapter suggests that a large part of the film’s reputation is maintained by a contradictory negotiation of its “Chineseness”. Aided by a mobilisation of Wong Kar Wai’s auteur brand, this flexibility benefits from a dismissal of Hong Kong’s commercial film industry, suggesting a growing incompatibility between the expectations of Britain’s critical and commercial cultures with the contemporary practises of international film industries.