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Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar-Wai crafts an elegant, episodic expression of yearning and regret in 2046, an oblique and indirect sequel to his 2001 masterpiece, In the Mood for Love. In fact, top-billed Tony Leung plays one Chow Mo Wan, which was also his character's name in the earlier film. He's writing a futuristic science fiction novel from a hotel room, next door to one that has housed a string of his lovers. There's Lulu (Carina Lau), a hooker who is murdered after meeting Chow. Then there's Jing (Faye Wong), the hotel owner's daughter, who loves a Japanese man but finds herself drawn to the writer. And there's Bai Ling (Ziyi Zhang), another prostitute, who eventually becomes Chow's confidante and drinking partner. None of them, however, compares to Su Li Zhen (Gong Li), the woman he left in Singapore before taking up residence in the hotel. It's difficult to convey more of the plot because, frankly, there isn't more of a plot. Wong Kar-Wai is a visual stylist with few equals today, and 2046 reflects his passion for imagery. The women, beauties all, are lovingly photographed in carefully lit settings. Baroque architecture, intricately textured surfaces, and coils of wafting cigarette smoke embellish the richly colored images and establish a dreamy mood that lulls the viewer into a languid state. The significance of the number 2046 is never really explained; it's both Chow's room number and the year in which his novel is set. That’s just one of the puzzling things about this endlessly fascinating film. You won't know exactly where 2046 is going, but you'll want to stay with it for the entire journey. Ed Hulse

All Movie Guide

Hong Kong-based filmmaker Wong Kar-Wai moves back and forth in time as he reexamines and amplifies the themes from his film In the Mood for Love in this offbeat romantic drama. Opening in the year 2046, in which a man named Tak (Takuya Kimura) attempts to persuades wjw 1967 (Faye Wong) to travel back in time with him, the film soon shifts to the year 1966, in which Chow Mo-wan (Tony Leung Chiu-wai), a struggling author, asks the woman he loves, Su Lizhen (Gong Li) to sail with him from Singapore to Hong Kong on Christmas Eve. She declines, and over the next three years, we return to Chow Mo-wan on December 24 as he finds himself with another woman each year -- lighthearted Lulu (Carina Lau) in 1967, eccentric hotel heiress Wang Jingwen (Faye Wong) in 1968, and Bai Ling (Zhang Ziyi), a high-class prostitute, in 1969. In time, Chow Mo-wan and Wang Jingwen become reacquainted, and a love affair blooms, but the fates are not on their side. 2046 had its world premiere at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. A re-edited version featuring an additional 4 minutes of footage, but minus sequences by martial arts coordinator Tung Wai) premiered in late 2004. Mark Deming

Time Magazine

Its pearly artistry and gorgeous faces should put you quickly, deeply, in the mood for love. Richard Corliss

Product Details

• UPC: 043396117303
• Source: SONY PICTURES
• Region Code: 1
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: Dolby AC-3 Surround Sound
• Editions: Subtitled
• Time: 2:08:00
• Sales Rank: 27,373

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