A wonderful, astonishing, and beautiful moving picture. An excellent, visually artistic story told in a precise, elegant, and polished voice.

2046 takes place after the first film from Wong Kar-Wai's In The Mood For Love. But there is something to be said about this story that doesn't necessarily apply to other conventional sequel films. Simply, 2046 is an extension of a story rather than a piece that helps complete a lineage movie. Oddly enough, if you jump onto the 2046 train without knowing about the first one, the story is still informally wrapped. Remarkably, this is the brilliance of the story telling constructor.

For whatever reason, and with a lack of understanding, there can still be charm and excitement in a film even if it doesn't require the affection for the characters. This story is told with such a different voice and idea, that the connection with the members on screen promotes an unidentified state of consciousness. We may not necessarily visually feel connected to the characters, but we can all identify the existence of unrequited love. We have all experienced unrequited affection, even well before our first memories are established. Ultimately, the story of 2046 recites this very following sentence in poetic form. Loving someone who doesn't love you causes pain.

The journey of unrequited love is expressed throughout all the characters in a slow, and delicate pace. Tony Leung Chiu-Wai is back as pornographic writer Chow Mo-Wan. Chow is a womanizing, charming, and curious character that takes work from writing in pornography, to Martial Arts novelist, and finally to a crafted story he calls, 2047. It is in this story, which is intertwined with Chow's life; we learn action and reaction from stars such as Zhang Ziyi, Takuya Kimura, Gong Li, and Faye Wong.

With this excellent star featured cast, Wong Kar-Wai's team paints a background unlike any other feature. The team did a wonderful job of mixing Hong Kong in 1966 and a fictionalized, futuristic location called,2046. As an audience, you will be told a story as if you were sucked up inside a vacuum. Visually powerful, and delicately detailed, this film can be told with the volume on mute. That is the power that this film exercises.

Combine the solid acting, strong visuals, and the foundations of a detailed story is enough to produce a good flick. But there is something that you may take away from this film that you rarely, rarely ever take away (I will say Stanley Kubrick's, 2001: A Space Odyssey is the other for me). That is the art of screen composition. 2046 is like a set or collection of individuals photographs. In these photographs breathes life, which sets the stills into motion.

Premiered at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival, 2046 s a masterpiece. It's a powerful film that warns you the significance of strong storytelling. And it reminds you the consequences of not asking for it. Every great storyteller has their masterpiece that sets the standard for not only other storytellers, but from the great teller themselves.

This movie is one of the movies where when you watch it again and again you'll find more details and answers as your play count goes up. But the promise of 2046 is that you'll be glad to re-check yourself in voluntarily. After all, in 2046 you are told that, "... when people had secrets they didn't want to share... they'd climb a mountain... find a tree and carve a hole in it... and whisper the secret into the hole... then cover it over with mud."

Cool guy(s) - Tony Leung Chiu Wai


Reviewed by: Mike Vu