There is something so wonderfully ironic about a film so lush and sensual, almost erotically so, that is also, at the same time, easily the finest work about carnal restraint and unconsummated passion ever made.

In 1960s Hong Kong, Chow (Tony Leung) and Su (Maggie Cheung), neighbours in a crowded apartment complex, learn that their respective spouses are having an affair. Although palpably attracted to each other, Chow and Su struggle to submit to their desires in a society where social propriety is of utmost concern.

Director Wong Kar-wai, with help from celebrated cinematographer Christopher Doyle and his two luminous leads, elevates otherwise commonplace themes of love and betrayal into one of cinema’s most visually striking and profoundly evocative films.