One of the most powerful images I remember from this film is when Mrs. Chan and Mr. Chow are sitting in their respective kitchens, just a wall separating the two of them. I think that this image is very telling of the emotions that run rampant throughout the entire movie. The two married individual long for each other in response to their cheating partners. They are in the same position in their relationships, just as they are in the same position in this image. They each sit on a stool, leaning against the wall that separates their complexes’ kitchens. They tell with their body language how depressed they are in their situations and how trapped they feel. They know that happiness is next door and yet they do not feel that they can take action in order to attain that happiness. They are trapped by not only their marriages but also by their convictions about what is right. They also seem to feel that they are obligated to do or to not do certain things and that they refuse to break those obligations. Their spouses cheat, and yet they themselves will not cheat. This image seems to show that they each realize how easy it would be to have a loving relationship and yet how impossible it is because of the standards to which they hold themselves.
I definitely see a resemblance this film has to silent films in that the movie says so much without dialogue. The scenes where they pass each other without saying a word; or where they sit, sadness dripping from their faces; or they are shown at work, distracted by their home lives all illustrate meaning and further the themes of the film without using dialogue. However, I do think the dialogue is very important in this film. Their conversations show how intimate and yet still somehow professional they are towards one another. Thus, I would suggest that this film is something new that mixes silent, visual qualities with meaningful dialogue to create a complex, evocative piece that inspires many emotions and deep thought.
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