Review of 2046 (2004) by Cory T — 22 Jun 2008

Asian people are just pretty. It's almost not fair, for there are times when they barely move their faces but evoke more emotion than some American actors can screaming a well-written monologue.

The one guarantee we will always seem to have with Asian cinema is the visual style; it will always be ridiculously stunning. And, with "2046", a ridiculously stunning visual style is about all we get.

Lost love, yearnings, regrets, memories, all of these elements can make for a grandly painful film that would be, if nothing else, fondly remembered. (I say that because usually films that present a seemingly unchangeable situation just play themselves out for the character's sake, not ours.) One reason I found this movie particularly unsuccessful is that it continued on (meander is a more appropriate term) when the story had long since established itself and worn out its welcome. Since this is one of those "seemingly unchangeable situation" stories, the ending could have occured an hour into it and we would have felt exactly the same about the film as a whole. I dare say I may have appreciated it more, but who can tell.

To say the plot of this film is confusing almost seems laughable. There were times when I thought I knew what was going on, and why this character was with that one etc., but I could never be certain. The film premiered at Cannes in 2003, I believe, and the final reel arrived at the airport just as the first one began rolling. Can you say, unfinished? I assume changes and tweaks have been made to it before its wide DVD release, but maybe it wasn't just that the film needed to be further edited in post-production, but also in pre-production.

I have yet to see, but intend to look for, "In the Mood for Love", which I gather is a sort of prequel to "2046".

Wong Kar Wai and his three cinematographers are extraordinary craftsman at visual stimulation, but emotionally?... Would it be too cheesy to say that train has already left the station?

- I'll take my chances.