2046Some people flee from their regrets through gambling, drinking, sex, or even writing about another time and place. 2046 is a drama about Chow Mo-wan (Tony Leung Chiu-wai), an erstwhile journalist who returns to Hong Kong from a long-term work assignment in Singapore a different man than when he left. Picking up a few years after the events of Wong Kar-wai's In the Mood for Love, Chow is no longer the "polite" or shy man he was; he is now given to vices, including a fondness for seducing women. Yet Chow's heart still belongs only to Su Li-zhen, her absence leaving behind a void that can never be filled.
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2046 opens with a futuristic scene: a Japanese drifter credited as "Tak" (Takuya Kimura) rides along on a high-speed monorail, claiming that he is doing what no one else wishes to do--leave a place called "2046". Prior to his exodus, he performs a ritual mirroring what Chow did at the end of In the Mood for Love--he whispers a secret into a nook inside of a mountain and fills it with mud so no one will ever know what it is. These surreal, cyberpunk scenes are revealed to be part of a story that Chow writes to fill his time after returning to Hong Kong, unable to go out and party owing to a mandatory curfew following a series of riots. This becomes his only meaningful creative outlet, and like so many other activities in his life, takes on an addictive element. Before writing again, his days after returning to Hong Kong were shallow and devoid of genuine emotion, as if he spitefully tossed away his heart from being unable to consummate his love for Su. 2046 includes several flashbacks detailing the events that led Chow to become the moral antithesis of his younger self from In the Mood for Love. This begins with his disheartening stay in Singapore, where he gambles away the money he planned to use to return to Hong Kong. He recoups his money with the help of an aloof professional gambler called "Black Spider"; Chow discovers that her real name is coincidentally Su Li-zhen (Gong Li), which fans the flames of the torch he still carries. This elucidates how Chow could have transformed from a kind--even milquetoast--journalist and into a predator who goes out all night drinking and brings home prostitutes to his apartment at all hours. The new Chow exhibits a level of selfishness and callousness that is reminiscent of his editor, Ah Ping (Siu Ping-lam), whose libertine lifestyle may have been a worse influence on Chow than expected in In the Mood for Love. It's possible that Chow is "punishing" both himself and other women because of his broken heart; this is doubly ironic since both he and Su--referred to simply as "Mrs. Chan" in In the Mood for Love--were victims of adultery, with their respective spouses having an ongoing affair with one another.
One of Chow's earliest conquests is Lulu (Carina Lau)--a central character in Wong Kar-wai's Days of Being Wild, who Chow exploits in a way mirroring Wong Kar-Wai's earlier film. (The way he uses a one-sided testimony to convince her that their affair actually happened recalls Last Year at Marienbad.) Chow's reunion with Lulu rekindles his memory of happier days with Su, when they collaborated on a martial arts script during their platonic relationship; he was staying in a hotel, room "2046". Despite Chow's restrained narration and almost impenetrable facade, he is fixated on this number. He chooses his new apartment solely on the basis of its room number, renting it from Mr. Wang (Wang Sum)--an opera enthusiast who turns up his music to mask his periodic outbursts of anger. Chow takes the room adjacent to apartment 2046, spies on his neighbors, and incorporates them into his novel. This starts with Wang's older daughter, Wang Jing-wen (Faye Wong), who practices Japanese in the hopes of marrying her Japanese boyfriend. Jing-wen's heart is broken after her father forbids the marriage, leading to a psychological breakdown. Chow recognizes a parallel between her shattered dreams of romance and his own, and the two become friends due to their mutual fondness for writing. Chow and Jing-wen corroborate on a story in one of the few moments where Chow appears to be genuinely content, as opposed to the ambivalent or cynical persona he usually conveys. In spite of all of the hollow relationships Chow has indulged in since his descent into depravity, Jing-wen represents his last lifeline before plunging into oblivion. He writes Jing-wen into the plot of his introspective sci-fi story as a robotic attendant on the train, who his Japanese alter ego tries to seduce; but because there is a delay in the robot's emotional responses, he concludes that she is not interested in him. Virtually everyone in Chow's life makes it into his novel as a caricature of their real-life counterparts, suggesting a conceitedness to Chow--that he can reduce everyone to mere components of his fiction.
The one person who is notably absent from his existential future story is Bai Ling (Zhang Ziyi), a flirtatious, beautiful, and elegant young woman who moves into room 2046 between Jing-wen's stays. Bai is deliberately portrayed as eye-catching and carrying herself with a coquettish attitude that provokes Chow's lust, reminiscent of Marilyn Monroe. His initial attempts to attract her are cliche, and she criticizes his feeble attempts with sharp rejection. Chow persists and eventually convinces her to go out drinking with him one Christmas Eve, after which their relationship heats up into a passionate affair. Bai can keep up with Chow's lusty energy, and their passion makes them seem perfect for each other. Despite finding a woman that relishes the same vices that he does, Chow deflects her attempts to draw him into a committed relationship. Bai tries to humiliate Chow into a monogamous relationship by demanding that each time he visits (which often leads to sex) that she will charge him ten dollars--a proposition that recalls moments from McCabe & Mrs. Miller. This plan backfires since Chow feels even more liberated from the obligations of his heart, making it something tawdry by monetizing it. Bai finally corners Chow and demands his love, presenting the once steadfast young woman appear at her most vulnerable. He coldly rejects her, which drives her to leave the apartment and set out on her own, burdened with a broken heart to match Chow's. Despite his contemptible treatment of Bai, Chow doesn't write her into his story, regardless of how vibrant and dynamic of a woman she is; the only other woman he hasn't incorporated is his lost love, Su. The implication of Bai's absence in this futuristic expression of his psyche is that he considers both Su and Bai to be "sacred"--that it would be unethical on some primal level to cheapen their place in his heart by exploiting them for his story. Even though Chow spends the rest of the 1960s in a state of decadent self-indulgence, there yet remains some shadow of decency for those women whom he has felt something intimate--he is unwilling to share that memory of them with anyone else.
Recommended for: Fans of an introspective drama about emotional disassociation and broken hearts--a gorgeous and contemplative film set during the Sixties in East Asia. Considering often Christmas Eve shows up in 2046, some might argue that it is also a "Christmas" movie, exploring themes like reflecting on the past, similar to "A Christmas Carol". (As a bit of trivia, if you say the title phonetically, it sounds a bit like "Twenty-Four, D, 6"; Christmas Eve is on the twenty-fourth day of December--which begins with a "D"--and the film is set in the "Sixties".)
One of Chow's earliest conquests is Lulu (Carina Lau)--a central character in Wong Kar-wai's Days of Being Wild, who Chow exploits in a way mirroring Wong Kar-Wai's earlier film. (The way he uses a one-sided testimony to convince her that their affair actually happened recalls Last Year at Marienbad.) Chow's reunion with Lulu rekindles his memory of happier days with Su, when they collaborated on a martial arts script during their platonic relationship; he was staying in a hotel, room "2046". Despite Chow's restrained narration and almost impenetrable facade, he is fixated on this number. He chooses his new apartment solely on the basis of its room number, renting it from Mr. Wang (Wang Sum)--an opera enthusiast who turns up his music to mask his periodic outbursts of anger. Chow takes the room adjacent to apartment 2046, spies on his neighbors, and incorporates them into his novel. This starts with Wang's older daughter, Wang Jing-wen (Faye Wong), who practices Japanese in the hopes of marrying her Japanese boyfriend. Jing-wen's heart is broken after her father forbids the marriage, leading to a psychological breakdown. Chow recognizes a parallel between her shattered dreams of romance and his own, and the two become friends due to their mutual fondness for writing. Chow and Jing-wen corroborate on a story in one of the few moments where Chow appears to be genuinely content, as opposed to the ambivalent or cynical persona he usually conveys. In spite of all of the hollow relationships Chow has indulged in since his descent into depravity, Jing-wen represents his last lifeline before plunging into oblivion. He writes Jing-wen into the plot of his introspective sci-fi story as a robotic attendant on the train, who his Japanese alter ego tries to seduce; but because there is a delay in the robot's emotional responses, he concludes that she is not interested in him. Virtually everyone in Chow's life makes it into his novel as a caricature of their real-life counterparts, suggesting a conceitedness to Chow--that he can reduce everyone to mere components of his fiction.
The one person who is notably absent from his existential future story is Bai Ling (Zhang Ziyi), a flirtatious, beautiful, and elegant young woman who moves into room 2046 between Jing-wen's stays. Bai is deliberately portrayed as eye-catching and carrying herself with a coquettish attitude that provokes Chow's lust, reminiscent of Marilyn Monroe. His initial attempts to attract her are cliche, and she criticizes his feeble attempts with sharp rejection. Chow persists and eventually convinces her to go out drinking with him one Christmas Eve, after which their relationship heats up into a passionate affair. Bai can keep up with Chow's lusty energy, and their passion makes them seem perfect for each other. Despite finding a woman that relishes the same vices that he does, Chow deflects her attempts to draw him into a committed relationship. Bai tries to humiliate Chow into a monogamous relationship by demanding that each time he visits (which often leads to sex) that she will charge him ten dollars--a proposition that recalls moments from McCabe & Mrs. Miller. This plan backfires since Chow feels even more liberated from the obligations of his heart, making it something tawdry by monetizing it. Bai finally corners Chow and demands his love, presenting the once steadfast young woman appear at her most vulnerable. He coldly rejects her, which drives her to leave the apartment and set out on her own, burdened with a broken heart to match Chow's. Despite his contemptible treatment of Bai, Chow doesn't write her into his story, regardless of how vibrant and dynamic of a woman she is; the only other woman he hasn't incorporated is his lost love, Su. The implication of Bai's absence in this futuristic expression of his psyche is that he considers both Su and Bai to be "sacred"--that it would be unethical on some primal level to cheapen their place in his heart by exploiting them for his story. Even though Chow spends the rest of the 1960s in a state of decadent self-indulgence, there yet remains some shadow of decency for those women whom he has felt something intimate--he is unwilling to share that memory of them with anyone else.
Recommended for: Fans of an introspective drama about emotional disassociation and broken hearts--a gorgeous and contemplative film set during the Sixties in East Asia. Considering often Christmas Eve shows up in 2046, some might argue that it is also a "Christmas" movie, exploring themes like reflecting on the past, similar to "A Christmas Carol". (As a bit of trivia, if you say the title phonetically, it sounds a bit like "Twenty-Four, D, 6"; Christmas Eve is on the twenty-fourth day of December--which begins with a "D"--and the film is set in the "Sixties".)