Anyone else see it? Anyone else think it was Wong Kar-Wai’s best movie yet?
Given that I’ve only seen In The Mood For Love otherwise, it didn’t have much competition in my mind. But it was a good movie. Very drawn out - to the point of boredom on occasions - and sometimes it felt like Wong was just being arty for the sake of artiness, but on the whole I enjoyed it. Could’ve done with more Maggie Cheung though 
Yeah, I really liked it, and even more so after thinking about it and talking about it with my wife. However, not my favourite of his, and I was slightly bored in places. Then again, my favourites are usually different fromother Wang fans. I likes In the Mood for Love Least, my faves being Days of Being Wild (just clicked about the Lulu character) and Ashes of Time (aslo Chungking Express I guess). Appreciation of 2046 would benefit form a good (re)viewing of all of Wang’s movie. I gotta do that someday.
Brian
I liked it as well. Agreed that it lagged at times.
I saw a “news” item where people were interviewed leaving the cinema and everyone said “I didn’t understand it”.
Maybe that group of KMT young turks could explain it to everyone.
I figured it would not be my kind of movie but went along - found it soooo boring and the trailer was very misleading indeed (not really much to do with Sci-Fi).
If anything, 2046 is the most like Days of Being Wild and Ashes of Time. The narrative structure of 2046 is fairly similar to Ashes of Time with the way that Wong puts scenes that chronologically happen later in the beginning of the movie, then working back to the past, and then redoing those later scenes.
And the acting in 2046 I think is by far the strongest acting in any Wong movie, whereas before I thought Days of Being Wild had the best acting. For the most part, I can’t stand Zhang Ziyi and her high-matinence diva tendencies, and she has a bit of that in her role in 2046. But when she has to turn it on (like during that one scene where she would only take $10 from Tony Leung for the ripped dress), damn she was on. Tony Leung was spot-on for the entire movie, but I’d have to say that Faye Wong had the best scenes. In particular, that early scene when she broke up with that Japanese boyfriend was heart-breaking. And that one shot of the robotic Faye Wong as she was staring out the train window is perhaps the single most beautiful shot in any Wong Kar-Wai movie.
I’m going to have to see 2046 again soon, but after seeing Days of Being Wild and In the Mood for Love again on DVD.
No mention of Fallen Angels?
My two favourites. 
I agree with pretty much everything you said Alidarbac. I also think that Zhang Ziyi and Wong Fei are not great actresses, but did very well in this film. I especially liked the contrasts between the two characters. I want to rewatch every WKW film, and then come back to this one.
There are big tie-ins with this film and In the mood for Love of course, and I also finally realised that Lulu is a character from Days of Being Wild. Any tie-ins with other films?
Brian
Near the beginning of 2046, Tony Leung takes Carina Lau’s shoes off after she crashes on that hotel bed, which is similar to how Takeshi Kineshiro takes off Bridgette Lin’s shoes after she crashes on a hotel bed in Chungking Express. Though the intentions of 2046’s Tony Leung and Chungking Express’s Takeshi Kineshiro are about as different as can be. That and the “head on the lover’s shoulder in the taxi” shot which was done both in Happy Together and In the Mood for Love. I couldn’t recall any reference to Fallen Angels or As Tears Go By, though I’m less familiar with those movies.
Harrier wrote:
I think even if you are not a fan of the director, this film is special. It is long, but keeps you interested and at times so completely absorbed you forget you are watching a movie. When a movie gets you on the edge of your seat, evokes strong emotions, and stays in your mind later, it is more than just entertainment. God it was just so refreshing to see something without explosions and shooting:-) The themes of love lost and found, heartbreak, timing, and denial are compelling and thought-provoking. Not an upbeat film, but if you want something that will make you think and enjoy good acting, this one delivers nicely.
Got tickets for the red carpet premiere and was pretty excited about it. But… after half an hour, my wife fell asleep and I was wondering what on earth was going on. Apparently it took 5 years to finish, as the actors felt it was difficult to work without a plot. I don’t blame them.
The whole movie is set in China in the 60s, where a writer writes a sci-fi story which is actually about his own life. 2046 is a place where time stands still, and I guess this is supposed to mean that his life stands still. His life cycles as a routine which may be exciting, but he’s not really going anywhere. Maybe there’s a message for singles here? Dunno… if you decide to see it, charge up with a double espresso.
Actually it was set in Singapore and Hong Kong, at least for the most part.
loved it tho’ the android bits were hard to fathom. personally with cinematography that good (chris doyle again?) i could watch paint drying and enjoy it. the claustrophobia of WKW’s interiors are unprecendented (tho perhaps barton fink comes close). and hell any movie with maggie, gong li, wang fei, and the scintillating zhang zi-yi strutting their stuff…well lack of a coherent story-line is a small quibble. love, sex and loss are plenty substance enough. plus tony leung giving a new meaning to the word “louche” (um is that the right word/sp?)
anyone else identify ex-mainland CGF’s in Zhang ZiYi’s character? she had me thinking back to every mainland girl i ever “dated” (all 3 of them)
Woooohooooo
Thaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaanks, Rascal :hubba:
2046 pics
2046 would have been better if it had been filmed on half the budget. The Sci-Fi segments were contrived and you got the feeling that certain actresses were guarenteed screen time. It worked best when it succeeded in capturing some believable emotion which was about a third of the time. 2046 is alternatingly poignant, pathetic, delicious, ridiculous…
I hope he gets slammed for this one so he can get creative again. 2046 was mostly a reworking of old ideas. Bloody gorgeous though. Still with that much time and money I could make a better movie.