Asian cinema has reached its all-time high in popularity with Ang Lee's successful Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, but there are other amazing film artists now reaching American audiences. Of course, many have been familiar with the Hong Kong style of John Woo, but there's another marvelous Hong Kong director gaining wider acclaim with the U.S. release of In the Mood For Love: Wong Kar-wai. He weaves such visual passion on the screen in this feature that you'll look forward to more of his work.

In the Mood for Love (Fa yeung nin wa) deals with the unrequited love that Chow Mo-wan (Tony Leung Chiu-wai of Hard Boiled fame) and Su Li-zhen (Maggie Cheung Man-yuk) feel for each other after discovering the adultery their spouses have been practicing. Both want to understand why their spouses could do such a thing, and meet innocently to practice how they will deal with it and role-play to gain understanding. Though sexual tension arouses them, they strive to hold it back. After all, "For us to do the same thing would mean we are no better than they are."

Audiences seeking linear plots will find themselves uncomfortable with Wong Kar-wai's lyrical camerawork and narrative style. To enjoy this thoroughly, let yourself go and soak in the visual vignettes that work like a smoldering music video to Mike Galasso's emotive instrumental score.

We get a sense of Hong Kong culture with the camera shots that capture our lonely lovers framed into tight quarters of the hallways, streets, and noodle shops that mark their existence. Often the frames nearly dwarf the two actors, and dominate the screen. But this framing adds an additional layer to the theme. These two lovers can never be in control of their own destinies; the timing isn't right and their landlords and neighbors will all gossip about them. There just isnt enough space in crowded Hong Kong to free them from suspicious eyes. This is most clearly illustrated when Mr. Koo returns early from being drunk, and his wife continues a marathon Mah Jongg game throughout the night, trapping the visiting Su Li-zhen inside Chow's small apartment.

Coincidence or fate has brought them together. They have moved next to each other the same day, sharing small rooms with two separate families in overcrowded Hong Kong. Their marriages are both having difficulty, yet they quietly go about their business and pretend that all is well (until they discover that their spouses are having an affair with each other).

Another marvelous moment occurs late into In the Mood For Love: Chow and Su are painfully alone in their adjoining apartments, longing to be with each other, hungering to make love with each other, yet remaining steadfast to their moral stand. This is all captured wordlessly with visual panning between the two unrequited lovers.

There is another great visual at the end, among some ruins. It rivals the power of the well-known final freeze-frame shot in The 400 Blows and the emotional final visual of the lesser-known The Butterfly. All three of these foreign films find a way to summarize much of their inner core through a final shot that will linger long in your mind's eye after departing the theater.

Although we never see raw naked passion expressed overtly on the screen, In the Mood For Love continually makes us feel the inner frustrations and pain of a love unfulfilled. And who can't relate to that?

Wong's camera remains the constant star with its composition, but with lighting effects (even the swirling cigarette smoke becomes beautiful), and changing speeds to capture the dreamlike mood, the acting stands out. Never overstated, both Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung put on an acting clinic that will be hard to beat. Tony Leung is so natural and communicates so much through his eyes that most people don't realize that he's acting.

An example of this occurs during one of the many improvised scenes when the couple practice how they will confront their spouse. After Cheung holds back from slapping Leung, he instructs her to put more into it, and they begin another role-play with Leung pretending to be her husband. Without saying a thing, Leung helps his partner get into the role by humorously modifying his portrayal of her husband: adding a few slurping sounds to his soup-drinking, along with a few other irritating quirks.

This becomes a standout scene for Cheung as well. At first she pretends she is angry at her husband and gives a half-hearted slap, but when Leung tells her to get more into her feelings, she surprises on camera. We see her truly struggle with the hurt, inwardly. Instead of lashing out with the rehearsed slap, she internalizes the pain.

Watching her face, I was struck with the idea that I was watching a real moment, and she eventually breaks down on screen. And that is only one small moment. She is a strikingly beautiful actress whose calm face belies what goes on underneath. She allows her body language to speak for her.

All this wonderment could not be possible without director Wong Kar-wai. Some actors may find themselves frustrated working with a director who improvises as much as he does, and Wong makes Robert Altman look like a beginner when it comes to this style of direction. And Leung especially takes to his direction, having worked with him before in films like Happy Together.

Wong comes to the set often without a script, having only a vague concept in mind. Knowing this helps decipher the plot of In the Mood For Love and explains why the last part seems so pieced-together with some awkward voice transitions. But put that aside. See the visual poetry and experience the joy of watching two consummate Asian actors demonstrating their abilities.

In the Mood For Love will not appeal to all audiences. This is one Hong Kong film devoid of action. But the themes of the story are so powerfully portrayed through Wong's unforgettable visual artistry, and that makes In the Mood For Love a must-see for true cinema lovers.

The Criterion Collection has released a DVD worthy of Wong's visual poetry. The colors have never been more vibrant and the stereophonic score never more moving on previous available editions. Criterion also comes through with excellent extras, highlighted with interviews with the director and conferences at Cannes—including the jam packed one where Wong explains his style. Especially of interest are his comments about creating the atmosphere of Hong Kong in the 1960s and how the foods cue Asian audiences about the changing seasons. The deleted scenes reveal some great camerawork left out of the final film, but also demonstrates Wong's wisdom in making the relationship between his leading characters more ambiguous. It's a tremendous DVD presentation to introduce Wong Kar-wai to a larger audience, and one to watch multiple times.