2046

[brinksteria]

This latest from Wong Kar-Wai is like a fever dream about love, memory, heartbreak, time ... and androids. I loved this movie. My movie companion thought it verged on being pretentious. But to me, it never crossed that line, because the emotional states of these characters seemed so grounded in reality ...er... that is, fictional reality.

A lot of the reviews mention this being a follow-up to "In the Mood for Love," a movie I didn't really like. [Aside: yes, the wallpaper and fabric were very pretty, but I got tired of watching Maggie Cheung eat noodles over & over again.] "2046" has the gorgeous look of "In the Mood for Love," but this time, stuff happens. With actual dialogue! And the performances from Tony Leung, Gong Li, Faye Wong - and especially Ziyi Zhang - are exquisite. Really rich, really subtle.

I also loved that "2046" brings back the theme music and Carina Lau's character, Lulu, from Wong's "Days of Being Wild." I wasn't completely satisfied after watching "Days." Like why does Tony Leung's character make his first appearance in the last 90 seconds of "Days?" But now that I've seen "2046," all those previous movies seem like components of a single mega-film. And the entire work is coherent, beautiful, and deeply fulfilling.

Anyone else see "2046?" Were you fascinated or bored?

[sjankis630]

Have to admit that this movie looks pretty good to me, but alas there are not theaters that I can find in the Washington DC/Northern
VA area showing this. When was this movie released?

[brinksteria]

Its U.S. release date was August 5th. It looks like it's playing in only a few American cities. I saw it abroad in January of this year. But when I saw it on the marquee of a NYC theater last week, I was like "yay!" it's finally hit the U.S. I hadn't realized it's in such limited release.

I hope it gets wider distribution. I couldn't find any info on if & when that would happen. It would be a shame if more people didn't get to see it on the big-screen. Wong Kar Wai's got a loyal (but maybe small) fanbase, so it would probably be profitable for any arthouse that would show it.

[huntergrayson]

Whoa, you found this more coherent than In the Mood for Love? I agree that the latter was slightly repetitive, but it also was a brisk 98 minutes. I adored 2046, but my friend (who adores Kar-Wai) and I thought that it could have been trimmed a little. But I think the two add up to the best fever-dream portrait of obsessive love this side of Vertigo. It is such a gosh-darn beautiful film -- Christopher Doyle, the cinematographer, is a genius. The mood of this film was so wonderful -- romantic and melancholy all at once. Ziyi Zhang gave easily the best performance of all the ladies - I dunno why she's usually cast as being so strong-willed, but it works. And Tony Leung gave one of the most interesting performances I've seen in a while - according to this interview, the director told him to play the same character "Like a new man, a new character, but with the same name and same identity, but like somebody else." I was also completely fascinated by the way the film was shot -- even though the film was scope, the widest of widescreen, good portions of the frame were blacked-out by doorways, etc. I think it was to give the film a slightly claustrophobic feel and emphasizes the lead's isolation. The hotel sign is the only true exterior shot that I recall. Also, apparently, the three leads speak entirely different languages yet "understand" one another.

Okay, maybe I just found the film incoherent because IMDB list's Cheung as "slz1960" which would indicate that she only appeared as one of the androids, but I thought she was the one at the beginning (not Gong Li?) and in one of the B&W car flashbacks. I can't really say this without seeming racist, but it didn't help that Kar-Wai made most of the women identical-looking -- in terms of dress, make-up and hair. Maybe that was part of the point? And the title may also refer to the last year Hong Kong remains autonomous under Chinese rule, but I can't make hide or hair out of that. So this has a connection to Days of Being Wild as well? That's very interesting that all his films seem to build to this, I guess. As well it should since he spent 4 years making it! Interesting bit of trivia: Maggie Cheung swore she'd never work with him again after ITMFL, but changed her mind once she saw the finished film.

The music in this film is perfect and so eclectic -- I love that he can use bossa nova, american X-mas carols and more in an Asian film. We really are living in a global time. Helpful info: here's a list of release dates. And there's now a region-free DVD[/color] w/ English subs, so you can see it if it's not coming to a town near you. Foreign films really should be seen in more theatres and by more people. Go now, everyone, esp. since films like these are often in theatres for such a short time. And I'll be pissed if the Academy's stupid rules shut this out from awards, esp. if Ziyi gets pushed for Memoirs of a Geisha instead. I still have residual anger issues over the Very Long Engagement debacle -- because Warner helped finance it, it's not a "French" film. Yeah.

brink -- you may dig Last Life in the Universe, which has Doyle lensing and a similiar trippy-and-romantic narrative feel.

[brinksteria]

It is such a gosh-darn beautiful film -- Christopher Doyle, the cinematographer, is a genius.

Seriously. It's gorgeous, isn't it?

Maggie Cheung plays the same character as in "In the Mood for Love," and she >>only appears in the short B&W flashbacks to the early 60s.<< It's her memory that haunts Tony Leung in "2046" as his lost love. That loss plays itself out, in the late-1960s setting of "2046," via the women Tony romances and the sci-fi story he writes. Plus, he camps out next door to her old hotel room number (2046).

Gong Li is the Cambodian gambler, who always wears one black glove. In the beginning of "2046" >>Tony Leung invites her to go with him to Hong Kong. And she makes her decision thru a game of cards.<< If that's the scene you mention, then that was definitely Gong Li and not Maggie Cheung. I think that scene is replayed or expanded much later in the movie.

I liked "2046" much better than "Mood," because there's more plot action going on. The characters seemed more interesting and more emotionally expressive. I agree, it's not necessarily more coherent. I meant that the whole shebang of "Days of Being Wild" and the other two movies has melded into a unified whole in my imagination. The fact that this happened over a period of five movie-going years is kinda crazy! Athough, I think "2046" makes enough sense on its own, so people can enjoy it without seeing those other films.

And thanks so much for the rec, hg. I'll check out "Last Life in the Universe" soon.

[huntergrayson]

See, that's what I thought, but then I read something which says that it opens with Leung saying goodbye to Cheung (but with the same black dress)! Then I got all confused because if that's so, then the scene is replayed later, but with Gong Li? The characters shared the same name, which doesn't clarify things. This doesn't bother me as much as LuLu (the singer?) reappearing after she was stabbed to death?

Hmm, I guess both (a)more people should see this film and (b) I should rent Last Days. The links between the films are interesting -- I just found out that Fallen Angels was made entirely of stuff cut from Chungking Express. I know I am definitely going to devour the extras of the Criterion ITMFL -- I hope they get this film, but doubt it'll happen.

[hal9000]

I was really taken by the subplot of Faye Wong and Takuya Kimura. Especially Takuya Kimura *le sigh*. Ziyi Zhang is a dream to look at, but she's an actress of considerable shallowness and in 2046 merely has a better dramatic vehicle for her eye-popping, romantic-angsty, bossy-boots routine as seen in her martial art roles.

It's a great film - I'd compare it thematically to Tarkovsky's Solaris. There are a few other WKW films I prefer, though.