The narration here becomes a character in itself. Initially it takes on the mundane, lifeless quality of Wei Wei's life and domesticity, retelling her daily events with a monotony about it. This is the internalisation of her emotions having been married for 6 years but separated for at least 2. And then as Li Wei arrives as a spark the narrator is silenced and she finds her voice again, no longer disappearing into her thoughts and "floating along in existence". Her mind becomes anew, her eyes see again. Early on we see her wandering aimlessly. With Li by her side, she could stand there all day without care in the world.
We see little of the small town. The focus is the love quadrangle, but in particular the childhood sweethearts. Their dialogue is suggestive as they dance around each other; the subtext of their attraction shines through (how many other romances have used this sort of tension - the audacious Hollywood version of it can be found in Gilda). But they only circle, they do not touch. In the Mood for Love was the pinnacle of this theme and we can see its influence here. Intimacy becomes locked in and internalised because it would be a moral wrong. Fei Mu almost doesn't want us to see it, bathing them in a sensual darkness. But it is spring and nature beckons. That final shot is such a poetic reconciliation of all the character's woes.
We see little of the small town. The focus is the love quadrangle, but in particular the childhood sweethearts. Their dialogue is suggestive as they dance around each other; the subtext of their attraction shines through (how many other romances have used this sort of tension - the audacious Hollywood version of it can be found in Gilda). But they only circle, they do not touch. In the Mood for Love was the pinnacle of this theme and we can see its influence here. Intimacy becomes locked in and internalised because it would be a moral wrong. Fei Mu almost doesn't want us to see it, bathing them in a sensual darkness. But it is spring and nature beckons. That final shot is such a poetic reconciliation of all the character's woes.