MovieChat Forums > Fa yeung nin wah (2001) Discussion > Unfaithful wife crying in shower

Unfaithful wife crying in shower

posted 8 years ago by tsromdal
6 replies | jump to latest

At around 21 minutes, we see the wife of Chow (Tony Leung) crying hard in the shower. This is after the poignant scene where Mrs. Chan (Maggie C) had paid her a visit, when the adulterers were together in the apartment.
We next see the unfaithful wife on the phone asking her lover if he has told his wife "it" yet, then comes the scene where she cries in the shower.

I have seen the movie many times, it is my favorite. I always felt that it should be Mrs. Chan that is crying in the shower after she has become 100% convinced that her husband is cheating. But it is surely the wife of Chow with the bellflower-shaped hair.

I am curious why she is crying. She could be sulking because that she has been found out by Mrs. Chan, but there is the other scene with that phone call in between - in other words, probably several days have passed since the confrontation. So most likely she is heartbroken because the affair is coming to an end, that the unfaithful Mr. Chan will not leave his wife.

I find it peculiar. Wong Kar-Wai takes great effort to not show us the faces of the two lovers, and not to let us in on their emotions. This puts us in the same place as the two protagonists of the movie, where we are guessing as to the motivations that led to the affair in the first place.
So why is it he shows us this emotionally dramatic crying scene with the unfaithful wife? I am not sure what the point was.

Anyone have any comments?

"I am like Cryptonite to men. Cryptonite dipped in cellulite!"

[–] muligens 8 years ago

Two possible explanations;

1. It's Mrs. Chow crying in the shower. She has just been (semi-)confronted by Mrs. Chan and knows that the game is up. The affair is now known by at least one spouse and there is presumably no way back to the way things were. Her marriage is effectively over.

Would she show such emotion over something that is of her own doing? Possibly. Would Wong Kar-Wai show us this emotional outburst, considering how careful he's been to exclude it everywhere else? Doubtful. Overall, this theory just isn't that convincing.

2. It's Mrs. Chan in the shower. This just works on every level. She has had her suspicions more or less confirmed and is no longer able to deny it to herself.

The only thing not in favour of this interpretation is her haircut, which resembles that of Mrs. Chow's. But we never see Mrs. Chan with her hair down so it's certainly conceivable that they have similar haircuts.

I choose to believe that we're seeing Mrs. Chan crying in the shower. Nothing else makes much sense to me.

[–] tsromdal 8 years ago

Yea I still have the hardest time understanding why we see that scene.

There is no doubt in my mind though it is indeed the unfaithful wife we see. You mention that we never see Maggie Cheung's hair "down" in other scenes, but in my best opinion, that 60's hairdo is not "up" or "down" - the hair is not longer than what we see, it is cut short in the hindneck (pardon my bad English).

Here are some pictures of Maggie where you can notice the hairline
http://alipstickaday.blogspot.dk/2011/09/look-inspiration-in-mood-for-love.html

"I am like Cryptonite to men. Cryptonite dipped in cellulite!"

[–] liscarkat-2 7 years ago

I think it was Mrs. Chan. Even if her hair isn't actually long, it would look different and somewhat longer when wet in the shower.

[–] Babyfat101 (221) 5 years ago

I thought it was Mrs. Chan.

[–] NoEasyBuckets (334) 4 years ago

It's definitely Mrs. Chan. It makes perfect sense for it to be her and no sense for it to be Tony Leung's wife in the context of this movie.

[–] Who (5146) 3 years ago

No, the haircut is obviously Mrs. Chow. We only really know Mrs, Chow from her distinctive sharply cut long bob hair style. It is a complete contrast to the upswept, soft curls of Mrs. Chan.

Mrs. Chow must be an unhappy woman to have an affair with a neighbor who seems like a cold and distant person. Meeting Mrs Chan face to face, she probably feels like scum for betraying her husband and this kind neighbor lady. Mrs. Chow, unlike Mrs. Chan, looked for love and happiness in an affair but only got sadness, heartbreak, guilt.