2046

A film that can be analyzed for its metaphors or enjoyed as a first-class melodrama. The images are stunning, the mise-en-scène, the costumes, the acting. So much is said through glances and the unspoken. Often, the staging made me feel like a voyeur. Then I was so captivated by a segment that I forgot whether we were in reality, the novel, or a pulp fiction. And even though it took a very long time (almost the entire film) before I could even begin to connect with the characters, I was still mesmerized by what I saw. I definitely have to watch "2046" again to fully understand it.

If it wasn't for Faye Wong's sub-plot, including the anime-esque Sci-fi sequences, I would haven't liked 2046. But it's the second half in general that changed my mind completely about the entire film. There are two main reasons I found the first half so underwhelming... First, I felt that the character of Chow Mo-wan, played as usual by the great Tony Chiu-Wai Leung, is here nothing but a misogynistic scumbag. I was shocked that I found myself loathing this character even more than the purposely detestable character, Yuddy, from Days of Being Wild. Secondly, and most importantly, is that the film simply didn't seem to be a Wong Kar-wai film to me. His poetic depiction of the themes of love and affection is totally absent here, and replaced with lust that's used as an object; not as a subject. And even the cinematography is so classy and filled with garish over-stylized visuals and colours. Nevertheless, the way Wong Kar-wai uses music to set the mood in his stories of lovers suffering from loneliness is still brilliantly evocative and poignant throughout the film's entire runtime, and as good as it was in all of Wong Kar-wai's film I've seen. One of the of the highlights of the first half is the character of Bai Ling. Besides the fact that Ziyi Zhang delivered one of the finest performances here, I really found her character to be quite interesting character. And as much as the excessive sex scenes offended me; I liked the how intoxicating her relationships are, since they developed the character pretty well, and made it well-rounded. The second half is otherwise a pure Wong Kar-wai magic! I was immensely worried that 2046 would be the second Wong Kar-wai film to leave me cold after Fallen Angels (which I like maybe even more than this), I finally found Wong Kar-wai's unique atmospheric mood at its most poetic. The overall theme of the film became completely clear, and I was really impressed by Wong Kar-wai's brilliant script, and how it managed to compensate for the uneven fake and sybaritic first half that I completely failed to be connected with on an emotional level. The only thing that the second half didn't fix is that the lines, and some of the themes, Wong Kar-wai recycled from his other two films in his unofficial trilogy felt forced, and annoyed me with their lack of authenticity. (6.5/10)

Despite the fact that it has been nominated for Palme d' Or in Cannes Film Festival and won six local awards in Hong Kong Film Awards this overrated movie (a drama/romance and sci-fi mixture) is aesthetically perfect but completely meaningless. Kar Wai Wong, best knows for "In the Mood for Love" made this experimental two-hour movie of an original 5-hour (or so) material (thank god he didn't use all of it). The title of the film refers to the last year before the 50-year period the Chinese Government promised to let Hong Kong remain as it is (Hong Kong was returned to China in 1997). Of course this has little or nothing to do with the film (whose general idea is people searching love and their identity in a futuristic Hong Kong) which is non-sensical, completely delusional and will have you wonder whether you accidentally smoked some giant pot. Nevertheless the cinematography of the futuristic Hong Kong is so artistic and beautiful that it's worth watching just (and only) for that.

I personally find this film to be tedious and boring. I see so many people praising this film due to how spectacular it looks and feels. I agree that the filming technique and acting is wonderful but the whole thing just falls flat. It is painfully long which just ruins it. This is a movie that might have been interesting if the pacing weren't so horrible and the story was more interesting.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]