2046

In Hong Kong there are four super giants in the movie directing business.

There's Johnnie To, arguably the most accessible of the four with fronts on both crime action trillers (Running Out Of Time, PTU, The Mission) and romance comedies (Needing You, Love On a Diet, Running On Karma).

Then there's Fruit Chan, an out-of-the box director with emotionally leading movies such as "Made In Hong Kong" and "Hollywood Hong Kong".

Derek Yee, an elite in the emotional romance movies that brings tears to viewers eyes as well as a crack in the viewer's hearts; (C'est La Vie, Mon Cheri, Lost In Time) and he's also pretty good at action romance (Full Throttle).

However, no one has a bigger profile than Wong Kar-Wai. Wong is the most inaccessible director of the four but almost all of his films are considered masterpieces. He may not win the box-office, but it is a sure bet that he can win almost everything in the awards. With the latest film from Wong, there is a very big expectation to be met, and although the film is critically acclaimed, for a Wong Kar-Wai fan, it doesn't really quite live up to it...

The movie has a huge cast of actors from Tony Leung, Carina Lau, Faye Wong, Zhang Ziyi, and even super popular Japanese idol Takuya Kimura. Tony plays an extension of the character from "In the Mood for Love". He is a writer for the newspaper but then changes to write science fiction romance after he encounters apartment room 2046. He then spends his day observing the happenings in the room and the apartments that surrounds it.

The title "2046", as it turns out, has a pretty deep meaning. It was the room that Tony and Maggie shared in their martial arts novel in "In the Mood for Love", and it also holds a political meaning. The 1996 Hong Kong government stated that the state of Hong Kong would not change for the next 50 years due to the emergence of Hong Kong back to Mainland China. 1996 plus 50 is 2046, and the theme of the novel that Tony writes in the story depicts 2046 as a place that never changes.

Anyhow, Tony gets into a lot of womanizing, but it all done in good taste and his acting is awesome so it doesn't matter. However, Wong Kar-Wai tried to make the viewers believe that the Tony in "2046" is in fact the Tony in "In the Mood for Love". But in fact, they are two completely different people. In a more disappointing fact, because Wong Kar-Wai is trying to link his three masterpieces together: "Days of Being Wild", "In the Mood for Love", and "2046", he seems to fallen in love with his work and constantly refers back to them. It makes the entire movie feel kinda cheap for using such a trick; however, the movie is still "the" Hong Kong standout title in 2004 along with "Kung Fu Hustle".

The art direction is beautiful and the acting are all superb. Tony Leung and Zhang Ziyi's performances are one for the ages; they are just so good. And despite all that, "2046" is still a very strong movie to watch. Although a lot of the film will make more sense if the viewer has already watched Wong's first two movies in the so-called trilogy, it is still one film to track down and watch.

Year: 2003
Director: Wong Kar-Wai

8.7/10