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The Era-Defining Aesthetic of “In the Mood for Love” | The New Yorker

www-newyorker-com.dartmouth.idm.oclc.org · 11 words · saved by 1 readers

Wong Kar Wai’s 2000 masterwork has influenced filmmakers ranging from Barry Jenkins to Sofia Coppola—and innumerable teens on TikTok. By Kyle Chayka There is a particular aesthetic floating abroad in the world. You could call it an atmosphere, a vibe, or just an essence of style. It’s made up of a collection of ingredients: humid alleyways in dense cities, neon lights cutting through darkness, quietly flashy fashion, nostalgic music, tragic romanticism, and the smoke of many, many cigarettes. It evokes glamour with a streak of grittiness, and the feeling of being adrift. It partakes of Golden Age Hollywood but is more international, modern, and self-aware. You can spot it across popular culture: it informed one of the most distinctive settings in the multiverse of “Everything Everywhere All at Once” and, before that, Barry Jenkins’s “Moonlight,” Sofia Coppola’s “Lost in Translation,” and Joe Barton’s ambitious crime series “Giri/Haji.” It also provided interior-design inspiration for t

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