2046

2046

Hmm, where to start... This has been one of the most anticipated films of the year but unfortunately it has ended up a collection of beautiful images in search of a story. The acting is great but with such dull and one dimensional characters there really is little for the viewer to get caught up in. The main character is shallow, his writing about some future 2046 or whatever is vague, badly explained, pretentious and goes no where. And I LOVE pretentious films! So something had badly gone wrong here. As for the future scenes, they are unexceptional, heavily branded with inept product placement (especially in the closing credits, muddled and, like the music as well, rely on repetitive (though beautiful) motifs that lose their charm after their twelfth appearance. So, despite Wong's oodles of talent, this is a pretty bad misfire. Not that it is awful, just dull. And the philosophical nature of the ending is nicked from Chinatown too. How shameless.

I have just finished watching 2046 for the first time and I am incredibly disappointed given the hype. It is the first (and need I say it...)Wong movie I have seen and it resonates with half-conceived notions of romance and love which would lead to your average 18 year old art student being laughed out of class. What a load of immature, over-sentimental clap trap. If you don't feel like giving Chow a good kicking for his treatment of Bai Ling then you should go back to your PS2 now as you must be emotionally retarded. Beautiful but oh so boring. Technically proficient but vacuous.

This movie begins with the Cannes Film Festival crest, proclaiming that it was a winner of 16 out of 17 awards, a declaration that we should somehow appreciate its artistic merit. Right there, it announces the fact that 2046 belongs to category of "utter mindless garbage passing for glorious, misunderstood art". 2046 is the movie-making equivalent of a monkey's paint spatters on canvas. Some would see that as art, I guess. Me? It's the same as a half-sheep caged in formaldehyde. Pointless. Boring. Self-indulgent. And that's after just 20 minutes. Don't watch it. Don't buy or rent it. The plot's non-linear and has no destination or purpose. It's just a series of garish scenes containing mindless sex and Japanese characters with ridiculous post-modern hairstyles. 2046 is a room-number, by the way, and has absolutely nothing to do with the year 2046. A shameful attempt at trying to create a sci-fi association.

The cinematography in this film was beautiful. The acting was fantastic. Unfortunately, this is where my compliments for this film stop. The previews of this movie made it look so exciting and interesting. I am a fan of Kar Wai Wong. I love these kind of movies, and I had high hopes. Instead we find gratuitous and unnecessary sex scenes with a lack of passion, and the world's slowest moving plot, wait a second... was there a plot? I literally caught myself dozing off in the middle of the film, hoping it would end soon. I looked over on the audience, and most people had bored expressions on their face. I made no connection to the characters. The plot slugs along, and you don't even really know what it all means until the very end, and the very end is extremely unspectacular. I'm so disappointed. Such a cool idea, so poorly done.

This trip to the cinema reminded me of being back at film school - highly acclaimed films that are technically well made that seem to run on endlessly whilst almost nothing happens (stylishly). I was seriously disappointed, as even the style was not that appealing here, although the cinematography did fit the mood really well. If you're a fan of Akira K's Dreams you'd enjoy this.That's not entirely fair to Dreams though, since that was a visual delight. What it's about is irrelevant, as it fails to capture at all. If you're out for an entertaining night, then skip this. If you're looking for something to revel in misery with, then try it out! In that case though, I'd recommend others than this - The Big Blue most likely.

I wasn't impressed with the movie. It moved too slow and there was too much voice-over that didn't work. It's not Wong Kar Wai best work. I think it's lacks the innocence and the magic of ChungKing Express. The explicits sex does not work. It seems to me that this film is trying too hard to be Western with all the sex scenes. I didn't believe for a second that Chow could get any of these women. And is it only me but did there seem to be a lot of shots of shoes? (feet *). Highly stylized, slow, jumps around a lot, stunning visuals. I could've also seen a little more with Faye Wong. Her storyline is cute but a little weak especially when it goes into the futuristic portion of the film. Gong Li is not in the film long enough and Zhang Ziyi was given the most screen time with Maggie Chung appearing for a split second.(Don't blink)

Sure it was gorgeous as all hell, but that was it. Look at any other wong kar-wai's works and you'll see them relying on the voice over to simply get across the feelings these characters are experiencing. In 2046 he relied on it to tell the story, and it ruined it. This was wong kar-wai's giant pot smoke film. He had too much time, too many resources, and the result is a story so full of muck that it's impossible to really identify with any of his characters. Much like Ashes of Time (which i feel was a superior film) where he had the comfort of a massive budget, huge cast, and plentiful time 5/10 for perfect visuals and a story executed at it's worst from an auteur we've come to expect much more from.

I just saw "2046" in an EGV theater in Bangkok. I've seen works by Tony Leung (Infernal Affairs), Gong Li and the rest, liking and respecting their works. The movie was beautifully shot and well-acted but although I identified with the male lead and the female characters I found myself ultimately uninvolved. I started to check my watch to see when it would end and developed a sudden desire to go to the nearest food cart for some som tom. What can I say? The acting was superb but I found the constant cutting back and forth to be monotonous. I was not entertained and found it over-long and pretentious with a big name director which means the film festival critics loved it. I'd wait for the DVD so you can either see it in it's entirety or fast forward to the good parts. See this film, ignore what others say and see if it entertains or enlightens you. For me I was not entertained and all that excellent acting and cinematography added up to nothing. Dark

To appreciate "2046," you cannot watch it like you would a commercial film. While most films depend on plot and dialog, "2046" relies heavily on images. There is no real linear plot. It's kind of like watching a 2 hour perfume advertisement. For the open minded viewer, this can be a rewarding experience. If you let the images wash over you, you can be entranced by the montage of visuals and music. This is not a film for everybody, but it is not like your average Hollywood film. This is definitely "art" rather than just a movie.