October 24, 2004

2046 Everyone who goes to 2046 has the same intention. To recapture their lost memories. Because in 2046, nothing ever changes. Nobody can be sure that this is true. Because nobody who goes there…has ever come back.

2046 is the latest film from Hong Kong director Wong Kar Wai. Together with his collaborators, cinematographer Christopher Doyle and production designer William Chang, Wong spent four years creating a film that is equal parts romantic, seductive, beautiful, and sad. It's not to be missed. He was a writer. He thought he wrote about the future but it really was the past. In his novel, a mysterious train left for 2046 every once in a while. Everyone who went there had the same intention.....to recapture their lost memories. It was said that in 2046, nothing ever changed. Nobody knew for sure if it was true, because nobody who went there had ever come back- except for one. He was there. He chose to leave. He wanted to change.

posted by Tinfoil Sorting Hat 20 years ago
  • Frist! This movies pwns!!!!11!11!!1!1!!!!!!! /aint it cool newsfilter
  • I dig it.
  • I've been wondering if it's worth the trouble to track down a (ahem) copy of this movie. I've heard good things, but it sounds kind of hokey and overhyped to me.
  • That's some excellent Flash work on that site. I'll have to see if the film is coming to town. I liked Tony Leung in The Lover with Jane March (yowza sexy movie!).
  • The movie disappointed me, but then my expectations* were unrealistically high. Or it could be the lousy quality of the pirate version I saw... SMAP was my first boyband, and Kimura Takuya was my favorite. Wong Kar-Wai totally wasted Kimura's big-screen debut. /angry teenie
  • Jerry Garcia: The Tony Leung in The Lover is Tony Leung Ka Fai. The Tony Leung in 2046 is Tony Leung Chiu Wai. Yes, there are two of them! Yes, it is very, very confusing! But you are right, Tony Leung Ka Fai was very good in "The Lover." If you want to see some of Tony Leung Chiu Wai's best work, let me suggest In the Mood for Love. 2046 is sequel to that movie, but it stands well on its own. kenshin: I'm surprised to hear that you didn't like it. I wasn't a fan of Kimura before, but I am now. I though Wong Kar Wai used him to great effect. I know he doesn't appear in the film as much as some of the others (Zhang ZiYi, I'm looking at you!). Maybe it had something to do with the rumours about conflicts on the set between Kimura and Wong Kar Wai. Besides, Shingo Katori is way cuter! nutty industries: While I will admit that 2046 is not as good as some of his other movies, I think it is well worth watching, especially on the big screen, if you can. However, in the spirit of full disclosure, I should tell you that I am a WKW whore and he could take a dump on a pile of film stock and I'd still watch it.
  • >> I thought Wong Kar Wai used him to great effect. Well, yeah, as a prop. Kimura's character was way too robotic, even for a robot. Shingo has a better body, but I love Kimura for more than his hotness. Kimura's in all but two of my most favoritest J-drama series. He's Sena! Of Long Vacation! We can always depend on Johnny's to supply an endless stream of pretty J-pop boys, but Long Vacation was once in a lifetime. [sniffles] Um, sorry. Topic. Beside Kimura, what was the point of bringing in Chen Chang? Did he have more than that one shot? I don't remember, because 2046 is the first WKW film that I don't want to watch twice. For the first time, WKW's standard slow pacing really bored me. A major problem is Zhang Ziyi, or my perception of her. As you mentioned, she got shitloads of screen time. Tony and Maggie (and Leslie, may he RIP) can handle any amount of WAK's attention; Ziyi can't. The girl enchanted me in Crouching Tiger and Flying Daggers, but she's considerably less enchanting outside wuxia. 2046 feels very much like Days of Being Wild redux, except that Leslie was the wild youth while Tony plays the sleazy adult. There's nothing appealing about Tony's character (beside his baby face, my god I want to look like Tony at 42). I don't think 2046 is a bad film. It just doesn't live up to half a decade of anticipation. I do wish to see it in theater though... hopefully it will still be playing in Taiwan when I visit next month. yeah, fat chance
  • kenshin: Not sure how long it'll stay in the theaters here, but assuming its still around, I'd be happy to go see it again with you. We could call it a mini-Mofi meetup, Asia edition. If the movie's gone, we could always meet for noodles under the Iron Penis.
  • check your email.... hmmm, iron penis noodles - viagra, but tasty