2046 [2005] [DVD]

The central character from 'in the mood for love' is reprised as a deeply jaded modern Casanova in 1960's Hong kong. Love is intricately bound to loss for him and his Hong Kong exploits serve to inflict this view upon his amorous conquests. The period detail and nuance of character and acting are exceptional. The same themes from 'in the mood for love' are blown up onto a radically large, disjointed canvas encompassing mirror narratives and a science fiction future. Is some of the effectiveness of the earlier work lost in the process? Maybe so but the artistic imagination and emotional evocation of themes make up for this.

2046 is used to stand for that which is desired and simultaneously unattainable. A date too far in the future for the characters to live to. Through the main character Tony Leung's writing of a short story 2047 and a future narrative set on a bullet train the idea that love is already lost is repeatedly evoked. This supremely jaded view of life and love is brought out in all the central character's doings.'I,m already missing you' black spider tells him in Singapore. Fictional episodes penned by Tony Leung blend with the main narrative to constantly stir up this tragic outlook. The viewer is left haunted and spellbound by the sumptuous visual realization of the lives of the characters in Hong Kong, and by the bravado and imagination of the science fiction story within a story. For someone unfamiliar with Wong Kar-wai's earlier work this could all seem like a bridge too far. But fans of 'in the mood for love' will recognize an accomplished master letting loose with all the tools and imagination in a considerable arsenal.

This is a rough, simplified plot synopsis, but the movie is much more complex than this, and it requires repeated viewings to enhance understanding. The repeated viewings are extremely rewarding, as this film is one of those art objects from which the viewer can draw new insights with each reexperiencing of it.

The cinematography is beautiful, and the musical score is absolutely superb and moving, underscoring the emotions felt by the characters. The music is designed to enhance our experience of each scene and to intensify emotion. Granted, the film is not an easy one to follow. Personally, I felt confused at times, especially on a first viewing. But at such moments you can just let yourself go with the emotion carried through image and sound.

"2046" rewards us with a beautiful and talented cast. I really enjoyed watching all the actresses that paraded on screen, among them Zhang Ziyi, of "Hero" and "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon," Gong Li, Carina Lau, Faye Wong and Maggie Cheung, all of them giving superb performances.

As other reviewers have noted, it is not mandatory to see the prequel "In the Mood for Love" to understand "2046," but it is well worth it, as there are many symbols from the previous film repeated in this one, and a scene where Su Lizhen reappears in Chow's memory. Personally, I liked "2046" better.

Finally, I have to add that this film, though from my point of view amazing, is certainly not for everyone. If you prefer a straightforward storyline and a plot where things are happening all the time, then this film is not for you. This film emphasizes emotional experience at the expense of plot. As long as you come prepared for this, and with the right expectations, it is a great film, very rewarding and very worthy of repeated viewings.

Like a lot of his work, the film is a rumination on time and memory, and a comment on how those factors can both soothe and enrage the ghosts of past heartache. It's also a comment on the writing process in general, with the character of Mr. Chow writing the story of 2046 - and it's follow up, 2047 - whilst simultaneously commenting on his own character, the women around him and the film it's self. There's certainly an air of Fellini about the project in this respect, with the film really coming down to a series of episodic love-affairs that only end up relating back to that ephemeral relationship between Chow and Su Li-zhen in the earlier film, with the allusions to La Dolce Vita, Casanova and The City of Women all bubbling away under the various other references and possible interpretations woven so meticulously into the story and the images.

Like In The Mood For Love, the film employs a fractured visual style to compliment the fragmented plot, with Wong and his three cinematographers shooting the action through doorways, windows, the cross-roads of corridors, breaking the composition up to obscure characters behind art-deco and pieces of furniture, whilst also using the stroboscopic technique familiar from all of Wong's previous films (in particular, ChungKing Express) to add a further, dislocated, dreamlike quality to the images. The use of colour, particularly in the scenes set within the story of 2046 and 2047 are absolutely ravishing, with Wong and, in particular, Chris Doyle (who shot the majority of the film) drowning the visual palette with amber yellows, deep purples, and violent reds. It's without question one of the most beautiful films I've ever seen, on a par with Cocteau's Beauty and The Beast, Kubrick's Barry Lyndon, von Trier's Europa, and Zhang Yimou's Hero... which was also shot by Doyle.

As noted before, there are quite a few layers woven into the film, like much of Wong's work the film is always evolving in a manner that is at times hard to fully comprehend, with the film really requiring a few viewings for the story to fully emerge. Although it seems like a continuation of Wong's style, particularly the style of his previous film, it also seems like something of a radical departure... a work of astounding intricacy and personal reflection akin to Tarkovsky's similarly personal and fragmented masterpiece Mirror. This, for me, is an apt comparison, with Wong using a lot of mirrored symbolism, not only in the way that he uses mirrors and reflective surfaces to capture the reactions of his characters, but also in the way that the women who move through the life of Mr. Chow seem to offer a reflection, or distant echo, of the character originally portrayed by Maggie Cheung.

This kind of deep interpretation might come across as guesswork or intellectual masturbation on my part, but for me, 2046 is an endlessly fascinating film open to a myriad of personal interpretations. Like the other commentators mentioned, the film works best if you bring your own pain and experiences to it, allowing the story of Chow and the relationship at the heart of In The Mood For Love to once again mirror our own thoughts and feelings. It is obvious throughout the film that Chow is a deeply wounded character hiding behind a façade of cool arrogance and heartless sex, though there is still that shard of naive romanticism so prevalent in Mood... lurking deep beneath the surface. This is most apparent towards the end of the film, in which we see Chow decamp to the gambling dens of Shanghai, where he meets a mysterious woman with a gloved hand, who is also mysteriously named Su Li-zhen.

Is this a real character or another creation of Mr. Chow, no different than the ciphers and abstractions found in his book, the scenes from which make up a great deal of the film's final act. The depiction of the world of 2046 and 2047 is one of the most startling cinematic creations ever witnessed, far-surpassing Kubrick's vision in 2001... the use of music, editing and cinematographic composition is astounding, whilst the whole final act of the films just brims with a melancholic beauty that is a heartbreaking and transcendent as those final scenes set within the ruined city, from In The Mood For Love. As with that film, 2046 begins and ends with a reprise of Chow's story about the man who whispered his deepest secrets into a hole carved within a rock, which adds a further element of self-reflection to the notion of writing and storytelling here.

Certainly a film of this nature won't appeal to all tastes, with a lot of viewers complaining about the continual fragmentation of the plot and the slow pace, which offers moments of thought and reflection (rare in today's fast-food cinema)... however, I feel that those really captivated by the ephemeral and ethereal depiction of love and undying devotion seen in the previous film of this cycle, or those with a fondness for the cinema of Tarkovsky, Fellini and indeed, Wong himself, will find this film suitably enthralling. For me, it's a fascinating work, one that is open to interpretation and rewards our patients and it's need for repeated viewings with a beautiful atmosphere, an enriching story, and some of the most beautiful images ever seen.