The visual element that stood out to me most throughout the film was the frequent use of mirrors and windows to frame the shot, as illustrated in the second photograph. As in Rear Window, this film draws attention to the voyeurism inherent in film watching through its framing, but unlike Rear Window there is no Jimmy Stewart for the viewer to embody; you are observing private moments from an unknown perspective. This serves to increase the tension felt by the two not-quite-lovers, the fear of discovery; when you see them through a window, you assume that you are seeing them from -somebody's- perspective, either one of the nosy neighbors or a spouse, and that they are always on the verge of discovery. This is how the couple feels as well, though the fear is largely unwarranted through the course of the film.
The use of mirrors is particularly interesting as a parallel to the plot and a subtle commentary on theme. The unusual characteristic of the plot of this film is the relationship between the two main characters; it is not a relationship of blossoming love (at least not til the end), nor is it even a normal friendship. Though they frequently encounter each other while passing each other in the noodle shop and being in proximity with each other as neighbors, their acquaintance is cultivated by the mutual discovery that their spouses are cheating with each other. Their relationship develops as they attempt to recreate the development of their spouses' adulterous relations, so at several instances in the film it is unclear whether the event you're viewing is reality or a charade. Shooting many of the shots through the perspective of the mirror highlights this strange ambiguity between what is real and what is facsimile.
Shortly after the screenshot represented in the prompt, there is another shot of the reflection of his reflection in another mirror. During this scene, the warning "never get caught between two mirrors" came to mind, the idea being that the infinite reflections that occur between two mirrors traps the soul. In this scene, Mr. Chow is working on his martial arts serial, an important connection that arose between them in that it has nothing to do with reenacting the development of the relationship between their unfaithful spouses. In this sense, the couple has allowed themselves to be caught between two metaphorical mirrors: the reenactment which allows them to better see their spouses' motivations and actions, and the mutual interest in the martial arts serial which allows them to better see each other. It is here that they lose the soul of their original intent, their promise not to do to their spouses what was done to them.
Nice work, Amanda. Good comments on teh use of mirrors here, and its relationship to the various forms of duplicity and facsimile we see throughout. Interesting yes, that they end up going to a hotel room to write rather than to make love, particularly a room and a hotel that evoke love and sex so boldly.
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