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Review of 2046 - SPOILER ALERT!
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ribi



Joined: 23 Sep 2003
Posts: 115
Location: ribi land

PostPosted: Sun Oct 17, 2004 2:08 am    Post subject: Review of 2046 - SPOILER ALERT!

I watched 2046 today.
It's easily one of the best movies that I've watched this year - the plot is strong, the music for the movie excellent and the cinematography so good and the colours so vivid that Wong Kar Wai can give Zhang Yimou a run for his money.

I think however, 2046 would only make more sense to movie-goers if they have previously watched Wong's Days of Being Wild & In The Mood For Love coz 2046 made a lot of references and parallel allusions to those 2 movies and in fact, I think, is a sequel to them.
Contrary to my fears that I would come out of the cinema scratching my head, it was not too difficult to understand at all.

The story starts off with Takuya Kimura on the train to 2046 who explains how 2046 is a place where lost memories are retrieved and nothing ever changes, which is what the premise of 2046 is - Change.
It then focuses on Tony as Chow Mo Wan, the protaganist of the movie and his move from Singapore back to HK (as he had previously relocated from HK to Singapore in IMFL).
His complete change of lifestyle and character upon his return to HK and his staying in room 2047 instead of 2046 (even though 2046 was unavailable then) is an indication of the big word, CHANGE. In a way, I think he's the antithesis (spelling?) of 2046 as he changes to let go of his past but he never really gets away and remains trapped in "2046", the shadow of his past love for Maggie Cheung as Su Lizhen.

Upon his return to HK, he met Lulu (Carina Lau) and that's the first allusion to Days of Being Wild as Carina plays the same character in Days. In 2046, Chow attempts to make conversation with Lulu and refers to her dead boyfriend which is Leslie as Ah Yorke in Days.
Later, he brings her back to her hotel room (which is no. 2046 incidentally) as she was drunk and the scene where he removes her heels for her reminds me of Chungking Express where Takeshi Kaneshiro did the same for Lin Ching Hsia. ^^
The monologue by Chow referring to Lulu's constant search for a boyfriend who's like a legless bird is further indication to me that Wong is wrapping up the strings that he left untied in Days.

The other scene which makes references to Days is the one where Chow stands in front of a mirror and combs his hair - the way he did it is EXACTLY how Tony did it in the last scene in Days. Classic.

Even the whole relationship that Chow had with Bai Ling (Zhang Ziyi) mirrors that of Ah Yorke's relationship with Lulu in Days. The way how Chow never ties himself down with any woman like Ah Yorke and the way how Bai Ling tries so hard to make herself his only woman like Lulu makes me wonder if this is not Days II and that my suspicion that Tony appearing in the last scene in Days is really the second Ah Yorke.

In fact, I had a lot of fun trying to pick out the scenes which have connections to either IMFL or Days. ^^

It may seem biased coming out of my mouth but I did Tony Leung outdid himself here in 2046. It's a complete change of the roles that he's normally used to doing. And the fact that he's totally convincing as a debonair Cassanova really had my mouth wide open for most of the movie. That twinkle in his eye when he's flirting with Bai Ling, the pain in his eyes as he walks away from Gong Li all made me sit in awe of this man.
Can I say once again how much I LOVE this man?

As for Zhang Ziyi (who had the most screen time besides Tony Leung), she's good in this movie. BUT there were times when I thought she came across as a little too strong in trying to seduce Chow, the deliberate sashaying of her body is a might too deliberate at times. Other than that, I think she carried her role very well in this movie - the hurt of a woman who gave her all, considering that she's still young.

I was a little disappointed though in Chang Chen's role - his screen time was so small that his might as well be termed a special appearance like Maggie Cheung. And I didn't think that Takuya Kimura's performance as Faye Wong's Japanese boyfriend was any outstanding - he was just acting the way he does in his doramas, huge puppy eyes when hurt and sad. As for Carina Lau, I can't say whether she's good or not coz she's mainly reprising her role as Lulu and she's more or less confined to the role that she has played out in Days.

I'm still trying to connect with the whole movie coz I was so enthralled by the entire plot.
My conclusion about Chow is that he's trying to let go of the love he had with Su Lizhen (Maggie Cheung) but at the same time, he's protecting that true love as well, never letting any woman into his heart, coz of what he said to Bai Ling at their last meeting, that he'll never share one thing with anyone and I guess that's his heart/love for Lizhen. I don't think he ever loved Bai Ling but he definitely has a soft spot for her, perhaps because he knew that he had hurt her badly as she gave her feelings to him. I think he might have fallen in love with Jingwen (Faye Wong).

This movie definitely rates a 9 out of 10 for me.
The remaining 1 point is coz of Takuya Kimura's nondescript acting, some scenes where I thought Wong was trying too hard to be artistic (of Faye Wong in the 2046 train ~ 1 hour, 10 hours, 100 hours later crap) and Faye Wong's android costumes which I thought were quite ill-fitting.

Now, I shall save up to:

a) Tailor those cheongsams that Bai Ling wore in the movie; and
b) Re-do my room to that of the 60's era, like those found in the movie.
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Looney Tune



Joined: 31 Jul 2003
Posts: 803
Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia / Shanghai

PostPosted: Sun Oct 17, 2004 6:09 pm    Post subject:

Great review ribi. Although I have not seen the film yet, still can't resist to read your review even if they contain spoilers. Looking forward to the film.
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ribi



Joined: 23 Sep 2003
Posts: 115
Location: ribi land

PostPosted: Sun Oct 17, 2004 6:35 pm    Post subject:

Thanks for your compliment. Very Happy
You'll definitely love the film...
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jenlim



Joined: 04 Jan 2004
Posts: 60
Location: manila

PostPosted: Thu Oct 21, 2004 10:08 am    Post subject:

Now, more than ever, I really, really, really want to see 2046. That was a great review, ribi! Very Happy

So to everyone out there, invest your time wisely and watch "Days of Being Wild" and "In the Mood for Love"! Those two movies are totally worth watching on their own but now it seems its become essential for total 2046 satisfaction! Hurrah!
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Looney Tune



Joined: 31 Jul 2003
Posts: 803
Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia / Shanghai

PostPosted: Thu Oct 21, 2004 5:17 pm    Post subject:

Make sure you have 5 hours to spare and do it in the sequence suggested by Wong Kar Wai. 2046 first, followed by ITMFL and then Days of Being Wild. (Almost like Lord of the Rings trilogy marathon) Wink
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mu99le



Joined: 27 Jan 2003
Posts: 2597

PostPosted: Thu Oct 21, 2004 6:11 pm    Post subject:

*sigh heavily*

can someone buy me the dvd? Sad
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lemonberry



Joined: 28 Jul 2003
Posts: 796

PostPosted: Fri Oct 22, 2004 7:56 pm    Post subject:

ribi - I didn't want to read your review earlier, cuz I didn't want to spoil the movie.

Last night, I watched a bootleg China version DVD which I borrowed from my video store. [Sorry, I just couldn't wait till next year to see this film, so I settled for the bootleg] So today I came to read your review. Wow, you wrote a very thorough review. I'm very impressed with your observation and comments.

I don't want to talk too much of it cuz a lot of people haven't seen it yet.
Tony's role - Chow Mo Wan is a total playboy. Tony did a great job acting it cuz it's a Tony I haven't seen before. It breaks me heart to see ZZY's getting treated so badly by Tony. When she asked if she can be the only woman he brings home, Tony said NO. It was so cold!! (But so good!) The relationship between Tony & Faye is cute. So he did have feelings for her, right? Cuz he said it was the happiest summer he had. Also it's so sweet when he tried to pick her up after work.

I had seen Days of Being Wild a long time ago, so I can't remember what happened in that movie. But I had the exact same feeling when I saw the scenes (twice) of Chow stands in front of a mirror and combs his hair! Déjà vu!
I agree the cinematography was excellent! The story is a bit confusing. I think it's because there're just too many roles, so it branched out too much. Some of the stories are just too short, I was like - huh? That's it? I'd love to see a movie with just a love triangel between Tony, Zhang Zi Yi & Faye Wong. (Kimura can be in there too). I don't think there was a need for Gong Li, Carina and Chang Chen at all. I didn't even get to see Chang Chen's face! Maggie appears less than 1 minute. Dong Jie also just a few minutes. I didn't get to see the scene of Tony's butt, I think they cut it out for China's version. They really added extra scenes for Kimura. He appears more than I expected. I'll have to wait for the real DVD come out and watch it again.

I thought Gong Li looks terrible in this movie (my other friend said the same thing), I don't know if it's the makeup or the hair, but she didn't look good. Even Faye looks bad in some of the scenes.
The music was good, I will get the soundtrack for sure.
Since there're so many reference back to Days of Being Wild and In the Mood For Love, I plan to watch these 2 movies again this weekend.
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ribi



Joined: 23 Sep 2003
Posts: 115
Location: ribi land

PostPosted: Fri Oct 22, 2004 8:47 pm    Post subject:

Quote:
The relationship between Tony & Faye is cute. So he did have feelings for her, right? Cuz he said it was the happiest summer he had. Also it's so sweet when he tried to pick her up after work.


Yep, that's what I thought so too, that he did have feelings for her. I think she was probably the only one who managed to reach to the old Chow and touch his heart but I feel that coz she already belonged to Kimura, their relationship didn't develop further and she didn't allow herself to fall for Chow too...

Quote:
The story is a bit confusing. I think it's because there're just too many roles, so it branched out too much.


Yes, now that you've mentioned it, I agree. I didn't think Gong Li's role was pivotal to the development of the plot at all, except for the fact that she shared the same name as Maggie Cheung in the movie. Agreed that she doesn't look too good too but I'm still trying to find a meaning for her role in the movie (which I normally only get from WKW's movie after repeated viewings - shows how smart I am huh? Embarassed ).

I need to get the dvd too but there's so many dvds of 2046 on ebay now that I'm not sure if they are the original ones or the China version (which would be dubbed) or worse still, the bootlegs. I'm just waiting for either yesasia or layoyo to have it.

Yesasia has it on their site that it's due to be released on Christmas Eve. I'm sure that'll make a merry Christmas for us fans. rendeer

As for the soundtrack, I'm listening to it now. I'd say - GO GET IT! It's really good - then again, if you've watched the movie, you'd know it too... Heheheh... Drunken
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lemonberry



Joined: 28 Jul 2003
Posts: 796

PostPosted: Fri Oct 22, 2004 9:11 pm    Post subject:

after I watch my assignment (in the mood for love & days of being wild), I'll wathc 2046 one more time, then we can discuss again.

I think that WKW just used this big cast to sell his movies worldwide. Gong Li is very well known in US and Europe. I don't see the need for her role either. I wish there's more Maggie's role to finish things off from In the Mood For Love.

I heard on the radio (HK commercial radio), the DJ said that there could be a whole movie on just Zhang Zi Yi and Tony's part alone. I think Tony and ZZY are both excellent in this movie.
Although I don't like Tony with the mustache, it really does fit the look of his sleazy, playboy character.

I had read one comment from someone that the 2046 android/robot costumes are bad 9and also in the movie they said the robots react slow], but it make sense cuz it's a written by Chow who was living in the 60s. At that era, that was his imagination of how the future world and how robots are like. Of course it's not as high-tech or sci-hi as what we imagine now.
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Tony Grrl



Joined: 25 Feb 2003
Posts: 1431
Location: Scotland UK

PostPosted: Sat Oct 23, 2004 3:22 am    Post subject:

ribi, that was a throughly superb review of 2046. I have not seen it yet either but I can't wait to see the jaw dropping Tony performance! I may just have to risk it and buy a DVD on eBay. They say they are not pirate copies...but they must be, right? Confused I am going ot have to get around to watching my VCD of "Days" before I see 2046, obviously! Looks like I am going to wear out this DVD the way I wore out the VHS video of ITMFL. I had to replace it with the DVD Razz Thanks also to you lemmonberry, you and ribi should work for WKW as his publicity agents! Wink
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lemonberry



Joined: 28 Jul 2003
Posts: 796

PostPosted: Sat Oct 23, 2004 8:58 am    Post subject:

I would offer your a copy of the DVD I borrowed from the video store, but it has no subtitles (English nor Chinese). Sad
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mu99le



Joined: 27 Jan 2003
Posts: 2597

PostPosted: Sun Oct 24, 2004 5:57 pm    Post subject:

hey after i posted the message...i got the bootleg DVD at nite. Very Happy unfortunately it's the Chinese version so yeah i didn't get to see his butt either (to add to my annoyance...i saw carina's butt instead. but yeah she got great figure). i think there's one bed scene censored...it's just before the scene where ZZY lay on the bed with black underwear and tony sat beside her wearing singlet. but i caught a tiny (very tiny) glimpse of the butt in earlier scene when he rolled over on bed to "serve" ZZY...hehehehe Embarassed

another drawback is the subtitle....the translation's correct but it runs ahead of the movie so u can imagine it...i'm practically at lost until tony began to write 2047 (the subtitle slows down then). so i want to ask some questions regarding the movie:

1. what are chang chen and dong jie's roles in this movie, really? their appearances are no more than cameos!! and no significance to the story either.

2. did chang chen kills carina in tony's futuristic story? (i thought he stabbed her on bed). why???

3. why tony asked gong li to go with him? she's not the real su lizhen isn't she?

4. why takuya asked EVERYONE to go with him on the train?

5. why tony changed his novel title from 2046 to 2047?

i think there are still more i dun understand but so far this is what i remember. will someone pls enlighten me, thanks.
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jenlim



Joined: 04 Jan 2004
Posts: 60
Location: manila

PostPosted: Sun Oct 24, 2004 6:00 pm    Post subject: Make it a Hobbit to watch WKW movies...

Looney Tune wrote:
Make sure you have 5 hours to spare and do it in the sequence suggested by Wong Kar Wai. 2046 first, followed by ITMFL and then Days of Being Wild. (Almost like Lord of the Rings trilogy marathon) Wink


Ha ha ha! A Wong Kar-Wai trilogy! That's genius, Looney! Really funny! Laughing
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reeve



Joined: 14 Apr 2004
Posts: 64
Location: Singapore

PostPosted: Mon Oct 25, 2004 1:28 am    Post subject:

mu99le wrote:
i think there's one bed scene censored...it's just before the scene where ZZY lay on the bed with black underwear and tony sat beside her wearing singlet. but i caught a tiny (very tiny) glimpse of the butt in earlier scene when he rolled over on bed to "serve" ZZY...hehehehe Embarassed

there was?? aaaahhh... no. Crying or Very sad i wanted to see the butt scene too. sigh. the theatrical version in s'pore was pretty smooth, so i can't really tell where the cuts were. Mad no bare ass here either.


mu99le wrote:
1. what are chang chen and dong jie's roles in this movie, really? their appearances are no more than cameos!! and no significance to the story either.

ok, i will try to clear up some of the questions on the film (this would be a major SPOILER if you haven't seen the film; so if you don't want to be spoiled, don't read further):

chang chen plays carina's lover, both in the real-life 1960s, and in tony's stories of 2046. in the 60s, he's one of the drummers in the nightclub. he stabbed carina, both in the the real-life 1960s (in room 2046) and in tony's stories.

dong jie plays faye's little sister, called 'jie wen'. she is very young when we first encounter her onscreen, sneaking into tony's room for alcohol. she also tries to seduce tony, but he insists that she only come back after she has grown up a little. she later ran off with another drummer at the nightclub, shortly before faye's character, 'jingwen', was hospitalised. then when faye went off to japan to marry takuya, she comes back to help her father at the hotel.

mu99le wrote:
2. did chang chen kills carina in tony's futuristic story? (i thought he stabbed her on bed). why???

ok, on my first viewing, i thought chang chen killed carina in the first act of the film. so when carina popped up in the real-life 1960s in the later half of the film, i was a little shocked. on second viewing, i realised that this is not so. he stabbed her, but she survived. given that tony continued to write about her in his stories after her stabbing in one of his stories, i believe he too knew she survived.


mu99le wrote:
3. why tony asked gong li to go with him? she's not the real su lizhen isn't she?

no, she is not the real sulizhen, just another woman with the same name. the heartbreaking part about this sequence with gongli was that tony was still in love with the sulizhen in his past. although it is the same with the sequence with faye (sorry, i'm extrapolating a little here--the reason, i think, that tony likes faye is because she too reminds him of maggie, in that she writes with him just as maggie did in itmfl, and they did a lot of other things together that greatly resembled tony's time with maggie in itmfl), it is a little more poignant here, what with the many missed chances that they have between them.

the story begins with them meeting at the casino and tony losing money. gongli offers to help him win back enough to fund his journey back to hongkong. tony agrees and they do, with gongli taking a commission.

then when she tells tony that her name is sulizhen, tony is reminded of the old sulizhen (played by maggie). he then proceeds to tell gongli of the old sulizhen, and gongli sees that he is still in love with maggie. when tony asks gongli to leave with him, she refuses, although we are not told exactly what are her reasons in refusing him (she never tells tony about her past).

seeing that she would not leave with him, tony told her that if she can let go of her past, she should look him up one day. in saying that, tony realised that he was actually saying that to himself, and even in the kiss, he was substituting her for maggie, and gongli knows that--hence her crying before she left too. it wasn't her he wanted at that time, it was maggie. the irony in the end was that tony did go back to singapore to look for gongli, but she wasn't there anymore. it was the same christmas when zhangziyi went back to look for tony in hongkong.


mu99le wrote:
4. why takuya asked EVERYONE to go with him on the train??

in the story 2047 that tony wrote for faye, takuya functions as tony would in real-life. so when takuya starts asking everyone on the train to leave with him, it's like tony fooling around with all the girls around him but the one he truly loves but cannot have. in 2047, takuya asks carina to leave with him, in tony's case, it's gongli. takuya asking the hotel owner was just too funny---i think wkw just couldn't resist. Laughing


mu99le wrote:
5. why tony changed his novel title from 2046 to 2047?

hmm... he didn't really change the title of his novel. it's more like he's actually writing periodic instalments for a newspaper, and the title of the series is 2046. 2047 is just one of the many stories in 2046, although i'm not sure if he just gave it to faye without publishing it, or he did also published it.

hope that helps. Wink


--------------reeve.
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eliza bennet



Joined: 07 Jul 2003
Posts: 823
Location: Istanbul

PostPosted: Fri Dec 17, 2004 1:15 am    Post subject:

Thank God, finally I was able to see 2046 - and I would not change a thing in it. It was simply the perfect fillm.

I have no problem with Gong Li (either as an actress or as a character in the film) I thought she was luminous, looking great and that break up scene and her after reaction to Tony's kiss were simply heartbreaking.

WKW to me is the perfect director.

reeve, let me tell you that I agree with all your answers and could not have worded them any better.

And Tony he is the best actor in the world! Literally. I do not think anyone else could handle the transition from playful to mournful, cruel and kind, in love and in lust this fine. It was a joy to watch him and he does it so seamlessly and effortlessly that I could only understand it after the film was over and I was thinking about it.

Also I think Kimu Taku san did great, I liked his performance but it is the first time I see him on screen so I can not know if it is WKW's magic or the actor's own accomplishment. He certainly looked hot though.

But Tony is the best looking and best acting of the bunch.

Listening to the soundtrack right now and it is highly recommended.
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