Spoilers Alert - Do not read further if you haven't seen the movie and don't want it spoiled.

BTW, Wong is his last name. That is assuming you were using Kar-wai as his last name like you would Scorsese or Hitchcock.

The waltz he used alluded to the "dance"/"romance"/"interaction" between the two characters. In addition to the theme music, Yumeji's Theme , which was orignally composed for Suzuki's Yumeji, the soundtrack is great. Included are the Spanish language Nat King Cole songs used in the film, the Beijing opera music, and Bryan Ferry's version of the standard, In The Mood For Love .

The reason why he framed shots behind screens, through windows, behind walls, etc., was to make the audience feel like a neighbor eavesdropping. On a related note, Wong's decision to never show the spouses' faces or have them offscreen is remarkable and extremely effective. As for the mirror motif, it visually expresses the "double" concept: Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan's shared situation; Mr. and Mrs. Chow compared to Mrs. Chow and Mr. Chan; Mr. and Mrs. Chan compared to Mr. Chan and Mrs. Chow; Mr. Chow compared to Mr. Chan; Mrs. Chan compared to Mrs. Chow, etc. BTW, the short story that inspired Wong is title "Tete Beche" (inverted postage stamps).

Adding to that romanticized and dreamlike memories concept is Wong's use of literary intertitles. It lends this story a timelessness. A sense that it did indeed happen; thus, contained within time at the same time.

That is a fair criticism if indeed this film was only about the potential love affair and the infidelity. But, the bigger purpose of the film is 60's Hong Kong as remembered from Wong's childhood and 60's Asia. Its Hong Kong title translates to Flower Like Years, indicating an era that has past. More specifically, Wong recalls cramped living conditions, neighbors gossiping, etc., all extremely imporant narratively and thematically. We see the social constraints on the main characters. Love is used to explore the bigger concerns of memory, time, and nostalgia.

The literary intertitles, from a novel not a poem, reiterates Wong's themes. Themes which have dominated Wong's body of work so far.

Wong addressed the Singapore and Cambodia sections. Specifically in regards to Cambodia, they already made the decision to have the character at the Angkor Wat ruins in Cambodia. So, they had to find a narrative justification for the character being there. He was a journalist, so a major news event around that time was the French president's visit to Cambodia.

Secondly, Wong felt he needed to jolt the audience with news/documentary footage to distance themselves from the two characters for the purpose of contemplation and putting their situation into a much wider social context.

Lastly, the sexual tension and loss is not weakened or lost in the Cambodia section (the finale). In fact, it is strengthened. Dont' we see Mr. Chow bear his soul and secret into the hole in the temple wall? Considerable time has passed since his time spent with Mrs. Chan. We see how much and how long the loss has affected him; so much so, that he had to unburden himself. In my opinion, it strengthens what we saw earlier.

You're right. They never did get together. The first image is a deleted scene. The second picture is a production still and/or deleted scene used for publicity (posters and press kits).