2046 (film)

Did You Know?

• It took four years to complete the film, and production was closed because of the SARS epidemic in March 2003.
• The film was picked up by Sony Pictures Classics for distribution in the United States and was released on 5 August 2005.
• A region free Blu-ray was released by EOS Entertainment on 17 September 2014 in South Korea, as part of a Wong Kar Wai boxset.

Plot

Returning to Hong Kong after years in Singapore, Chow Mo-wan has become a suave ladies' man to cover up his pain from losing Su Li-zhen. He meets Lulu, takes her home, and accidentally keeps her room key; upon returning it, he later learns she was stabbed the night before by a jealous boyfriend. The landlord's daughter Jing-wen is seeing a Japanese man her father disapproves of, and eventually breaks up with him. The next tenant is Jing-wen's younger sister Jie-wen, who attempts and fails to seduce Chow. Chow runs into financial difficulties and starts writing sci-fi stories where people from his life appear. Bai Ling, a nightclub ballroom dancer seeking a long-term relationship, meets Chow after her boyfriend leaves her; their relationship turns sexual, but Chow wants it purely physical. When Bai asks for exclusivity, Chow refuses and they break up, after which Bai returns to prostitution. Jing-wen is released from institutional care and still depressed; Chow develops feelings for her but nothing develops as she remains in love with her previous lover. Jing-wen gets engaged, and Chow, depressed, runs into Bai Ling and resolves to get over Su. Later, Bai calls Chow to dinner and informs him of her plans to leave for Singapore. Chow had met a different Su Li-zhen in Singapore, a professional gambler who helped him win money to return to Hong Kong; when he asked her to return with him, she challenged him to a final draw that he lost, and she refused to go. When Chow returns to Singapore to visit her again, he does not find her and hears rumors she either returned to Cambodia or was killed.

Cast

Tony Leung appears as Chow Mo-wan, a journalist and writer who narrates and anchors the story, bringing back his character from Days of Being Wild and In the Mood for Love. Maggie Cheung also returns as Su Li-zhen, the woman Chow loved most, with whom he had an emotional affair in 1962. Gong Li plays a different Su Li-zhen, a professional gambler nicknamed Black Spider who claims to be from Phnom Penh; Chow meets her in Singapore. Wang Sum portrays Mr. Wang, a tenor singer from Harbin. Faye Wong plays his older daughter Wang Jing-wen, who falls for a Japanese man her father strongly opposes. Takuya Kimura plays that Japanese man, sent to Hong Kong by his company. Dong Jie plays the younger daughter Wang Jie-wen. Carina Lau reprises her role as Mimi or Lulu, a former cabaret dancer mourning her boyfriend Yuddy. Chang Chen plays her drummer boyfriend. Zhang Ziyi plays Bai Ling, a cabaret girl and prostitute who becomes Chow's lover. Siu Ping-lam reprises his role as Ah Ping, Chow's colleague and friend. Bird McIntyre, Benz Kong, Berg Ng, and Akina Hong appear in supporting roles.

Critical reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 87% based on 119 reviews, with an average rating of 7.40/10. The critical consensus describes it as a visually stunning, atmospheric, and melancholy movie about unrequited love and loneliness. On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 78 out of 100 based on 34 critic reviews, indicating generally favorable reviews. Manohla Dargis in The New York Times called the film an unqualified triumph and praised Zhang Ziyi's shockingly intense performance, noting that it gives all the other relationships a sense of terrific urgency. Dargis also commented that Wong refuses to be enslaved by traditional storytelling and creates meaning through visual images, not just words. Glenn Kenny in Premiere gave the film four stars and ranked it as one of the ten best films of 2005, describing it as a puzzle, a valentine, a sacred hymn to beauty, and a cynical shrug at the damned impermanence of it all.

Accolades

In 2004, the film received a Golden Palm nomination at the Cannes Film Festival. Later that year, it took home Best Art Direction and Best Original Film Score at Taiwan’s Golden Horse Film Festival. It also claimed the European Film Award for Best Non-European Film, the Best Foreign Language Film prize at San Sebastián, and the same honor from the New York Film Critics Circle, while finishing second in that category with both the Boston Society of Film Critics and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. At the 2005 Hong Kong Film Awards, it earned multiple nominations and won Best Actor for Tony Leung, Best Actress for Zhang Ziyi, Best Cinematography for Christopher Doyle, Best Costume Design and Make-Up, Best Art Direction, and Best Original Film Score for Shigeru Umebayashi.