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[duckroll]

So after five years, his masterpiece of 2046 is finally complete. I saw it about two weeks back and loved it. Bebpo caught it today and we talked about it, and he really liked it to so I decided maybe it's time to find out how many WKW fans there are here in GAF!

Surprisingly, 2046 is a pseudo-sequel to both In the Mood for Love and Days of Being Wild. The movie was VERY good and easily WKW's best. It was just beautiful and the mood was perfect. Tony Leung was as usual perfect and awesome, but Zhang Ziyi really surprises here because she actually has an extensive -acting- role. Both Faye Wong and Takuya Kimura put up great performances in their limited roles but also make up the most visually appealing parts of the show. So all is good. Music is as usual awesome with a great moody score mixed with WKW's selection of great popular oldies, and the cinematography is gorgeous.

Anyone else looking forward to this or have comments from seeing it already? Come on, I know there has to be closet (or otherwise) fans of HK arthouse films here that don't have action, martial arts or violence! Come on!

 

[Banjo Tango]

Is this being shown in theatres? Is it out on DVD?

And to contribute to the appreciation... In the Mood for Love was pretty.

 

[Grifter]

Chungking Express is the best movie ever. I need to find Days of Being Wild somewhere before 2046.

 

[GG-Duo]

I have not seen this yet but... I don't like the premise.
It kind of ruins Tony Leung's character from In the Mood For Love, imo.

but we'll see...

 

[sefskillz]

The shots from the website look so amazing. Christopher Doyle is on cinematography (obviously, heh) and it just looks fantastic. There's a few shots from the movie in his book, There is a Crack in Everything (which I highly recommend), that look great.

I'm pretty sure 2046 showed at the last Cannes, but Wong Kar Wai wasn't finished with it so it didn't get much coverage.

 

[duckroll]

I have not seen this yet but... I don't like the premise.
It kind of ruins Tony Leung's character from In the Mood For Love, imo.

but we'll see...

I feel that 2046 makes his character alot more powerful and human. You'll have to see to understand, but by the time 2046 ends, I feel the developments have really made his character a much more interesting study and a stronger (althought not really better) person.

The shots from the website look so amazing. Christopher Doyle is on cinematography (obviously, heh) and it just looks fantastic. There's a few shots from the movie in his book, There is a Crack in Everything (which I highly recommend), that look great.

Yes, the movie is indeed visually amazing.

I'm pretty sure 2046 showed at the last Cannes, but Wong Kar Wai wasn't finished with it so it didn't get much coverage.

It showed and was "complete", but they didn't like it (booo) and WKW tweaked it further before the theatrical release. He's implied that he might tweak it further for the DVD release if he feels its required.

 

[distantmantra]

Has a distrubutor picked this up for North American release?

 

[Mike]

I'm intrigued. "In the Mood for Love" is one of my favorites.

 

[beaglebot]

IMDB doesn't show a US release date for it.

Release dates for
2046 (2004)
Country Date
France 20 May 2004 (Cannes Film Festival)
Hong Kong 29 September 2004
Malaysia 30 September 2004
Taiwan 1 October 2004
South Korea 7 October 2004 (Pusan International Film Festival)
France 20 October 2004
South Korea 22 October 2004
Japan 23 October 2004
Portugal 28 October 2004
Italy 29 October 2004 (Rome)
Thailand 4 November 2004
Norway 5 November 2004
Philippines 10 November 2004 (Manila)
Denmark 12 November 2004
Finland 26 November 2004
Belgium 15 December 2004
Germany 13 January 2005
Netherlands 3 February 2005
Czech Republic 14 April 2005

 

[FortNinety]

This is by my most anticipated foreign film for a long while now. Fallen Angels is still in my top ten of all time films.

 

[distantmantra]

IMDB doesn't show a US release date for it.

Gah. Oh well, I'm sure if it hasn't been picked up by Spring 2005, it will screen at the Seattle International Film Festival.

 

[Dead]

Ive heard nothing but dissapointment regarding the movie, yet I believe the dvd is out now, so well see. Thanks for the impressions

 

[Bebpo]

Ive heard nothing but dissapointment regarding the movie, yet I believe the dvd is out now, so well see. Thanks for the impressions

...

I'm not sure how people could be dissapointed with the film.

If you came in with high expections of Wong Karwai...well it's his best film.
If you came with high expactations of it being a great film...well it's the best film of the year by far IMO.
If you expected great cinematography...you sure got it. Acting? Well you have some of the best performances ever given by their respective actors. Music? Damn good. Story? Very well done and more complex then anything else he's done.

The film is just utterly brilliant. It's kinda like if you took In the Mood for Love and gave it faster pacing, more characters, and even better story. The only people who I expect to be dissapointed in the film are people who go in expect a sci-fi action movie like the Matrix. Just like Wong Karwai's other films, it's not for a mainstream audience but rather for those who can appriciate film as a form of art in motion. At Cannes it was incomplete so that might've been the reason people were unhappy with it there.

As for a dvd being out, I'd guess it would have to be a bootleg since the film only opened up in Asia this month.

 

[Dead]

...

I'm not sure how people could be dissapointed with the film.

If you came in with high expections of Wong Karwai...well it's his best film.
If you came with high expactations of it being a great film...well it's the best film of the year by far IMO.
If you expected great cinematography...you sure got it. Acting? Well you have some of the best performances ever given by their respective actors. Music? Damn good. Story? Very well done and more complex then anything else he's done.

The film is just utterly brilliant. It's kinda like if you took In the Mood for Love and gave it faster pacing, more characters, and even better story. The only people who I expect to be dissapointed in the film are people who go in expect a sci-fi action movie like the Matrix. Just like Wong Karwai's other films, it's not for a mainstream audience but rather for those who can appriciate film as a form of art in motion. At Cannes it was incomplete so that might've been the reason people were unhappy with it there.

As for a dvd being out, I'd guess it would have to be a bootleg since the film only opened up in Asia this month.

2046 Limited Collector's Edition Box Set
Disc Format: DVD-9 (Single-Side and Dual-Layer)
Encoding: Region free
Aspect Ratio: Widescreen (16:9)
Release Date: October 8, 2004
Run Time: 127 minutes
Available Audio Tracks:
Mandarin Chinese / Japanese (Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround / Dolby AC-3)
Mandarin Chinese / Japanese (DTS)
Available Subtitles: Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, English
Video Format: NTSC Color
File Format: MPEG-2
Features:
2046 (2:07:12) - pop-up of "FACE" logo (non-removable)
Still gallery (9 promotional stills)
The Making of 2046 (0:36:23) - pop-up of "FACE" logo (non-removable)
The Making of Kekexili (0:23:19)
Trailer: Tian Xia Wu Zei / A World Without Thieves (0:01:30)
Booklet (32 pages)

So this is a bootleg? Im planning on ordering it whenever, so id like to know..seems legit to me, though im hardly an expert on hk dvds and the like

as far as the dissapointment comment, yeah most of what ive read was from the cannes screening....

 

[sefskillz]

i want that, what's the price?

 

[duckroll]

Do NOT buy that. It may look attractive, but it's the China version. While legit, it also means it's completely mandarin dubbed for all the cantonese dialogue. Wait for the HK release in a few months instead, it'll be well worth it for the original language alone.

 

[Dead]

Do NOT buy that. It may look attractive, but it's the China version. While legit, it also means it's completely mandarin dubbed for all the cantonese dialogue. Wait for the HK release in a few months instead, it'll be well worth it for the original language alone.

I found this out shortly after that post.


godamnit, always a catch ;(

 

[sefskillz]

sorry for the bump, but.. is there any word on the HK release?

 

[distantmantra]

Fox Searchlight has picked up 2046 for North American release, I wonder we'll actually see it.

Scarecrow Video in Seattle has the Chinese version for rent, it's torture waiting to see it on the big screen.

 

[Nemrael]

It's out in 10 days in HK according to
Yesasia

I'm really looking forward to it, although I didn't seem to enjoy In the Mood for Love as much as most people did - my favourite WKW film is Ashes of Time.

 

[nitewulf]

just finished it. in a word 'fantastic'. but "in the mood for love" is still my favorite WKW movie, and still his best work as far as i'm concerned.
2046 does answer a lot of unanswered questions from ITMFL though, Tony Leung's character is fleshed out a lot more.
i liked ITMFL more visually and aurally, a lot of the shots in 2046 made me feel clausterphobic, i felt there are too many shots that are partially blocked...which i loved in ITMFL but ended up not liking so much in 2046.
once again, a simple story about complicated human emotions, told by a master of visual story telling.
A+

 

[smirkrevenge]

personally, i think ITMFL is still a better film. i feel with 2046 he was trying to accomplish too much...going with all those different stories. his films work better if there aren't too many things to keep track of...especially due to the simplicity of his shots and pacing.

2046 is still a good film (*swoon zhang ziyi*), but he will never top ITMFL.

and grr...not a fan of what he did with tony leung's character. part of the reason i wasn't satisfied with 2046.

 

[GG-Duo]

just finished it. in a word 'fantastic'. but "in the mood for love" is still my favorite WKW movie, and still his best work as far as i'm concerned.
2046 does answer a lot of unanswered questions from ITMFL though, Tony Leung's character is fleshed out a lot more.
i liked ITMFL more visually and aurally, a lot of the shots in 2046 made me feel clausterphobic, i felt there are too many shots that are partially blocked...which i loved in ITMFL but ended up not liking so much in 2046.
once again, a simple story about complicated human emotions, told by a master of visual story telling.
A+

Watched the VCD at a friend's house tonight - and I pretty much agree wholeheartedly with this post.

I really enjoy how he ties this movie in with Days of Being Wild. It's a good parallel, and a good tribute to Leslie Cheung.

I don't see how this isn't a continuation of ItMfL. There were rumors that Wong Kar-Wai was denying that it's a sequel. but it is.

I also thought Faye Wong's character's name is a nice little wink.

Let me see? What else...
Did it ruin Tony Leung's character? Yes and no. The core is still the same, but he is now wrapped in a pragmatic debauchery.

I didn't like the futuristic segment. It seemed like that part was too heavy-handed with the messages.

It's funny how Faye Wong and Zhang ZiYi are getting the relatively same roles as they have done before. However I really liked Zhang ZiYi's performance.

...

 

[Timbuktu]

Deleted

 

[Timbuktu]

Watched the VCD at a friend's house tonight - and I pretty much agree wholeheartedly with this post.

I really enjoy how he ties this movie in with Days of Being Wild. It's a good parallel, and a good tribute to Leslie Cheung.

I don't see how this isn't a continuation of ItMfL. There were rumors that Wong Kar-Wai was denying that it's a sequel. but it is.

I also thought Faye Wong's character's name is a nice little wink.

Let me see? What else...
Did it ruin Tony Leung's character? Yes and no. The core is still the same, but he is now wrapped in a pragmatic debauchery.

I didn't like the futuristic segment. It seemed like that part was too heavy-handed with the messages.

It's funny how Faye Wong and Zhang ZiYi are getting the relatively same roles as they have done before. However I really liked Zhang ZiYi's performance.

...

I agree with this too. I really enjoyed it, but I can see how some people can be disappointed with it too. You really have to be a WKW fan to get the most out of 2046. you have to have memories of ITMFL and Days of Being Wild still fresh in your mind to be touched by their allusions. I love 2046 partly because for me it makes those films more complete. It's a great conclusion to WKW's work so far, but I guess the disappointment is that there is nothing really new here. It explores those WKW pet-themes, about memories and lost, about love being a temporal thing...etc. and make them more explicit with 2046. So in places it is a bit heavyhanded.

As for the film itself, 2046 shows that WKW has mastered the use of visuals and music and the mood is brilliant overall. The film also has a lot of details as one might expect from a 5 year production, not just visual details with the sets and customs but also in many of the characters. The relationship with Zhang Ziyi is my favorite, how Tony Leung's character wins her over is very well done. Other parts of the film is less well done, Faye Wong's role is not as good as the one she had in Chungking Express and I felt that the parts with Gung Li in Singapore dragged on and are unnecessary. I also felt that WKW took a step backwards by needing to have Tony Leung as a narrative voice to hold the film together. It does the job and brings the many bits and pieces together into a fairly comprehensible story, but I thought ITMFL was more accomplished by getting rid of this characteristic WKW move.

I like how he treated Tony Leung's character, but I have to say none of the characters in this film is particularly likeable. I love the fact that all the female roles are really nothing more than shadows and reflections of Maggie Cheung's character in ITMFL. You just have a few shots of Cheung in 2046, but she have a greater presence than any of female leads in this. I mean, Zhang Ziyi was great, but with that taxi scene she just pales in comparison with Cheung. I felt that 2046 is like a reflection on WKW's creative life. ITMFL has said what WKW wanted to say perfectly and like Maggies Cheung's character in the film, it is something WKW cannot let go of. WKW is sortof trapped by his memories of his past works and I guess 2046 is exactly what he says it is in the film:

'Everyone what went there had the same intention... to recapture their lost memories.
It was said that in 2046, nothing ever changed. Nobody knew for for sure if it was true, because nobody who went there had ever come back - except for one.
He was there. He chose to leave. He wanted to change.'

I sure hope WKW is the one who can change, that 2046 can give him the closure that he needs. 2046 really, is the best dissertation i've seen on WKW work. It's very literary. But it's only as good as his previous works, and it's really time for WKW to move on.

 

[RobotChant]

I liked it but I'm still a bit disappointed. I thought Zhang Ziyi was miscast. She's too young and immature to be playing that role, imo. Everybody else’s acting was great though.

Visually, the film looks gorgeous throughout. I remember specifically a shot in this greenish room that was spectacular.

Even though I'm bit disappointed, the movie is still way better than most stuff out there. I was a WKW fan before ITMFL, and when I saw that for the first time, it blew me away. 2046 didn't quite blow me away, but good enough.

 

[nitewulf]

You really have to be a WKW fan to get the most out of 2046. you have to have memories of ITMFL and Days of Being Wild still fresh in your mind to be touched by their allusions. I love 2046 partly because for me it makes those films more complete.

definitely. i actually watched it w/o the prior knowledge that this might be a sequel to ITMFL. in fact i had no idea. so i was completely shocked right from the beginning where tony leung narrates "in the old days, people would go on top of a mountain...". i figured 2046 would have a reccuring theme, but it is actually the sequel.
and yes, fresh knowledge of the movie helps, and being a rabid WKW fan helps. i showed ITMFL to two friends, one loved it, one hated it. i showed 2046 to same two friends, the one that loved ITMFL, loved it, the one who hated it, still thinks WKW is style over substance, but he had a greater appreciation for the sequel.

It's a great conclusion to WKW's work so far, but I guess the disappointment is that there is nothing really new here. It explores those WKW pet-themes, about memories and lost, about love being a temporal thing...etc. and make them more explicit with 2046. So in places it is a bit heavyhanded.

another theme i would like to add is alienation in modern society. and aside from that i agree with you. there is nothing new here, one of the main reasons i was so irritated!
he wanked (ha ha) too much here. whereas ITMFL was subtle and amazing, 2046 became heavy handed, the pacing too deliberate, even by his standards.

As for the film itself, 2046 shows that WKW has mastered the use of visuals and music and the mood is brilliant overall.

he is definitely a master of aural and visual techniques (*bows down to chris doyle as well*). but i found the music in 2046 more or less forgettable. whereas the themes in ITMFL were haunting and stayed with me, over and over and over. specially nice touch was the spanish song sung by nat king cole!

I sure hope WKW is the one who can change, that 2046 can give him the closure that he needs. 2046 really, is the best dissertation i've seen on WKW work. It's very literary. But it's only as good as his previous works, and it's really time for WKW to move on.

agree wholeheartedly. he said his piece, and i love what he is trying to tell us, but we need some new themes from this brilliant man. he has too much potential.

 

[GG-Duo]

he wanked (ha ha) too much here. whereas ITMFL was subtle and amazing, 2046 became heavy handed, the pacing too deliberate, even by his standards.

I agree. I found Tony Leung's narration and the Sci-Fi segments to be the biggest example of this. ("10 hours, 100 hours",...)

In fact, I think the beginning of the film was very jarring. It's as if WKW forgot to introduce the audience to his style. He simply opened with the weird sci-fi stuff and expected us to be pulled in already, when in fact the audience is thinking "what the hell? this is too strange."

I also have a minor complaint against the focus/narrative. Although the film is primarily about Leung's character and how his love _festered_ ... Zhang ZiYi became the protagonist for a portion of the film. Yes, I understand that WKW is trying to convey the effect of Leung's emotions through other characters, but Zhang just seemed _too_ strong within the story.

btw, I loved ItMfL. It's been years since I have seen that film but the music and scenes are still haunting my mind. *cue Spanish singing and images of red fluffy red curtains*

 

[sefskillz]

it finally opened in my city and i got a chance to see it. i'm still trying to decide how i feel, really. it felt more like a supplement to INTMFL than a movie to stand on its own. it definitely had it's moments, but i can't help feeling a bit disappointed.

 

[Boogie9IGN]

I watched the first 20 mins or so of 2046 and didn't know what the fuck was going on. I'll go borrow my friend's DVD and try it again though

 

[distantmantra]

it finally opened in my city and i got a chance to see it. i'm still trying to decide how i feel, really. it felt more like a supplement to INTMFL than a movie to stand on its own. it definitely had it's moments, but i can't help feeling a bit disappointed.

I saw this back in May during the Seattle International Film Festival, and I too, and unsure of my feelings towards it. It didn't really feel like a full film, but more of a supplement to In th Mood. I need to rewatch it, so I'll probably just buy the DVD once it comes out.

 

[ScientificNinja]

It's been out on DVD for ages. Seen it twice. I still think it's rubbish. And, knowing how slapshod his flicks are put together, I'm frankly surprised that some marketing genius managed to dupe everyone into thinking his work is "arthouse". It's called rubbish, folks. In The Mood For Love was a fluke; 2046 is a post-modern self-congratulatory wank-fest.