The films of Wong Kar-wai are all about mood, filled with atmospheric shots, elliptical dialog, voiceovers, and an ever-present melancholy. But 2000’s In the Mood for Love might just be his most poignant film; it’s certainly the one that’s affected me the most.

It’s 1962, and two neighbors living in a crowded apartment building — a man named Chow (Tony Leung) and a woman named Su (Maggie Cheung) — make the unfortunate discovery that their spouses are having an affair with each other. Bonding over their joint shame and confusion, Chow and Su attempt to determine how their spouses’ affair began, only to begin developing feelings for each other.

The film’s “will they, won’t they” storyline practically drips with heartache and repressed desire. Those emotions are rendered in exquisite detail by the elegant direction, lush cinematography, incredible costume design, and above all else, Leung and Cheung’s measured performances, in which the slightest glance, briefest touch, or mere tilt of a cigarette communicates an ocean’s worth of emotion.