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2046 (film)
Encyclopedia
2046 is a 2004 Hong Kong film
(filmed in Shanghai
) written and directed by Wong Kar-wai
. It is a loose sequel to the 1991 Hong Kong film
Days of Being Wild
and the 2000 Hong Kong film
In the Mood for Love
. It follows the aftermath of Chow Mo-wan's unconsummated affair with Su Li-Zhen in 1960s Hong Kong
but also includes some science fiction
elements.
and continued with In the Mood for Love
.
There are four main story arcs to the film. Three are about the relations of Chow with women that he meets after losing Su Li-Zhen. The first concerns Chow and Wang Jing Wen, the second is about Chow and Bai Ling, and the third is about Chow and a different woman who is also named Su Li-Zhen. The fourth takes place in Chow's mysterious world of 2046 and concerns a Japanese passenger falling in love with an android. Typical of Wong Kar-wai films, the arcs are presented in pieces and in non-chronological order.
The approximate order of the arcs is listed below.
2047 Arc Part I
This section is the only part narrated by Chow's fictional character and not Chow himself. Set in the far future, a huge rail network connects the planet. The world is a vast dystopia, and lonely souls all try to reach a mysterious place called 2046 in order to recapture lost loves. In the world of 2046 nothing ever changes, so there is never loss or sadness. No one has ever returned from 2046 except the protagonist, a lonely Japanese man named Tak (played by Takuya Kimura
). As the story begins, Tak is on a long train ride returning from 2046.
"All Memories Are Traces of Tears"
As Chow Mo-Wan's life is revisited, we learn that he is still struggling to get over the loss of his idealized love, Su Li-Zhen. He returns to Hong Kong after being in Singapore for a number of years to try to forget his anguish. To cover up his pain, he becomes a suave ladies' man. Chow attends many lavish parties and beds many women.
On Christmas Eve, Chow meets Lulu from the first film (Days of Being Wild
) whom he remembers from Singapore, although she has no recollection of him. That night, Chow Mo-wan takes Lulu home as she is quite drunk, but accidentally keeps her room key. As he leaves, he notices that her room number is 2046, the same room number that he and Su Li Zhen had when they conducted their private affair. Upon returning a few days later to return the room key, the landlord informs Chow that the room is not available due to renovations. The landlord offers him the adjacent room 2047. Chow later learns that Lulu was stabbed in the room the night before by a jealous boyfriend.
Chow agrees to rent room 2047 in the meantime. After the renovation of room 2046 is complete, the landlord asks Chow if he wants to move in. However, by this time he has gotten used to room 2047 and decides to stay there. The rooms 2046 and 2047 are connected by a common hallway, Chow regularly watches and gets involved with the people that move into 2046.
Wang Jing Wen and Wang Jie Wen Arc Part I
The first person that moves next door into 2046 is the landlord's daughter, Wang Jing Wen (played by Faye Wong
). Chow spends a good deal of time just observing her from his room. He learns that she has a Japanese boyfriend working in Hong Kong. Unfortunately, the relationship is forbidden by her father. Eventually, Wang breaks up with her boyfriend, then suffers a breakdown and is institutionalized. Afterwards, the next tenant that moves into 2046 is the younger daughter of the landlord, Wang Jie Wen. She is young, attractive, and flirtatious. She frequently tries to seduce him but he refuses each time.
A short time later, Chow runs into some financial difficulties, and stops going out. To make some extra money, he starts to write a science fiction series called 2046. The story is set in the distant future, about a group of heart sick individuals looking for love. The only place to find it is at a mysterious location called 2046. Virtually all of the characters in 2046 are based on people that Chow has met, such as Su Li-Zhen, Lulu, or Wang Jing Wen. Whether 2046 is a place, a room, or a state of mind is never explicitly defined. Chow makes the story somewhat bizarre and erotic, and readers seem to take notice.
Bai Ling Arc Part I
The third person to move into room 2046 is the coquettish Bai Ling (Zhang Ziyi
). She wears similar qipao
dresses as the original Su Li-Zhen but radiates a much more aggressive sensuality than her. While it is never explicitly stated in the film, it is implied that she is a nightclub girl who occasionally doubles as a high-class prostitute. However, she is intent on finding a long-term relationship. In one instance, when Chow overhears her arguing with a man, Bai tells the man that to continue seeing her, he must end his relationship with the other woman. Chow again spends a lot of time observing her across the thin wall separating rooms 2046 and 2047.
On the next Christmas Eve, Bai runs into Chow just after she is dumped by her boyfriend before they are to go to Singapore. Chow suggests that they go for dinner, to which she grudgingly accepts. During dinner, Chow tells Bai about his experiences in Singapore. She is intrigued, and after dinner she agrees to try to form a platonic friendship with him by borrowing time from each other. Their brief friendship does not last however, as they soon develop carnal lust for each other. Not surprisingly, Chow wants to keep the relationship strictly physical; he continues to pick up other prostitutes. To compromise, Bai soon develops a compensation system where he pays her 10 Hong Kong dollars (a trivial sum) each time he stays over. However, over time Bai finds that she has feelings for Chow, and she asks him to discontinue seeing other women. Chow refuses and gives a counter offer, the option to be his customer for $10 each night. Bai is crushed and breaks things off with Chow. As a way of revenge, Bai then descends into seeing men exclusively for money, frequently changing partners. A short while later, she moves out of Room 2046.
Wang Jing Wen Part II
After Bai Ling moves out, Wang Jin Wen moves back into 2046 after returning from the mental hospital. She is a shell of a former self, and still very depressed over the loss of her Japanese boyfriend. Her ex writes numerous letters in an attempt to reconcile with her, but she refuses due to her father.
Wang passes the time by assisting her father at the hotel. She also starts to spend more and more time with Chow helping him with his writing and editing. At this point, he is regularly publishing chapters of 2046. These scenes are very similar to those in In the Mood for Love when Su Li-Zhen used to help Chow with his writing in their hotel room. Chow remarks that this period in his life is the happiest that he has been after Su Li-Zhen. However, before he realizes it, he develops feelings for Wang Jing Wen. He makes some minor attempts to start a romance with her, but nothing develops since she is still very much in love with the Japanese man.
One day Wang Jin Wen asks Chow rhetorically if some things in life never change. He answers her by writing a story called 2047. In this story, a Japanese man leaves the world of 2046, but falls in love on the journey home. While he initially tried to base the story on Wang Jing Wen's ex-boyfriend, he realizes that the story is ultimately about himself.
2047 Arc Part II
Chow's fictional world is revisited. However, this time it is narrated by Chow himself. Set in the far future, for passengers to reach or leave 2046 they must take a long journey on a vast train network. The main character, Tak (who is portrayed by Wang Jing Wen's Japanese boyfriend) is trying to leave 2046 because he lost the love of his life in that world. As the train travels through the extremely cold sections 1224-1225, Tak becomes intimate with one of the train's female android assistants (played by Faye Wong) and later falls in love with her. He then asks her numerous times to come with him. However, each time the android does not answer. Tak has heard earlier that excessive operation causes the android's response time to slow down and decides to wait on the train to see if this is the case. He sits quietly on the train, and counts the seconds that go by, hoping the android will decide to leave with him. However, the android still does not respond. Ultimately, Tak realizes that it is not a delayed reaction that causes that android not to respond, but that she is in love with someone else and that their relationship is simply not meant to be. With this knowledge, he finally has the strength to leave the train and 2046. Completing the story marks a turning point in Chow's recovery.
Wang Jing Wen Part III
Next Christmas, Chow invites Wang Jing Wen out to dinner. After finding out that she still misses her ex in Japan, he takes her to his office so that she can call him to wish him well. Looking sadly through the window panes as Wang Jing Wen is overjoyed talking to her ex, Chow remarks that in fact Section 1224-1225 from the story are simply the dates for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day when everyone is especially lonely and needs additional love. He goes on to say that while he had feelings for her, and most likely could have taken advantage of the situation (as he did the previous year with Bai Ling) he was happy that in this situation he did the "right thing". The call re-ignites the romance. Soon afterward, Wang Jing Wen moves to Japan and gets engaged.
A short while later, while still feeling depressed over the loss of Wang Jing Wen, Chow runs into Lulu again as she has a violent confrontation with another woman that is sleeping with her current playboy boyfriend. This incident is identical to one that occurred in the original Days of Being Wild when she confronted the original Su Li-Zhen for sleeping with Yuddy. Chow remarks that Lulu, is likely to forever remain living in the past. However, he then remarks that this is not really a sad thing, as she seems perfectly content to be miserable. The incident strengthens Chow's resolve to get over Su Li-Zhen.
Bai Ling Arc Part II
Some time later, Chow gets a call from Bai Ling and the two go out to dinner. This time, Bai looks much less glamorous and more "run-down". She informs Chow that she plans to leave for Singapore, and asks him to provide a reference and plane fare. She also asks where he was last Christmas, as she stopped by at that time, and was hoping to see him. In fact, she remarks that she really misses him. It turns out, during last Christmas, Chow had gone back to Singapore in an attempt to find a former lover, another woman named Su Li-Zhen (played by Gong Li
).
Su Li-Zhen Arc
Chronologically, this arc occurs first in the film. Chow met the second Su Li-Zhen some years back when he first arrived in Singapore. At that time, he was still grieving over losing the original Su Li-Zhen and spending much of his free time in the local casinos. After losing much of his savings, he encounters the second Su Li-Zhen, a mysterious gambler. They become lovers, and he soon wants to know everything about her. But she insists that he beat her in a "high-card" draw before she will reveal anything about her past, which he never is able to do. Eventually, she agrees to help him win back his money so that he can return to Hong Kong. When she does so, he prepares to leave, and asks her to go with him. Again, she challenges him to a high-card draw, which he again loses. Knowing little about her, Chow speculates that she, like himself, has a troubled past.
Initially heartbroken about this, he remarks that after he completes the story '2047' he finally understands why the second Su Li-Zhen did not go with him, as he would again have tried to recapture the past by looking for elements of the original Su Li-Zhen. When Chow went back to Singapore to visit her the second time, he does not find her. He makes some inquiries as to her whereabouts and speculates that she either returned to Cambodia or was killed.
Bai Ling Arc Part III
Shortly after the events of 'Bai Ling Arc Part II' and the night before she boards a plane for Singapore, Chow again meets Bai Ling for dinner. Bai remarks that, between their two meetings, one of her clients has given her a lot of money and she wants to pay Chow back immediately. He refuses to take the money. Bai insists on paying for dinner, and Chow is stunned when she hands him a stack of money, each $10 bill representing one night they had spent together. Bai tells Chow to pay for dinner with this stack of bills, while unbeknownst to him, she sadly watches behind the restaurant's green window veils.
After dinner, Chow walks her back to her apartment. Grasping his hands at the apartment door, she begs him to lend his time to her once more and spend the night. She then asks him "Why can't it be like it was before?" He refuses to stay over, even out of pity, coldly stating that that is simply something he would never lend. He exits by jerking his hands away from her and remarks in voiceover that this was the last time he ever saw her. He leaves in a taxi, staring emptily into space, as the camera slowly enters a whispering hole.
. It also became an in-joke that the title would actually refer to the year of release.
It took four years to complete the film. During that time, production was closed because of the SARS epidemic in March 2003
. The film premiered at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival
with the film reels arriving straight from the laboratory, causing a delay in the festival schedule. After the premiere, Wong took the film back and continued editing until October, when it was released to theaters.
It was picked up by Sony Pictures Classics for distribution in the United States, and was released on 5 August 2005.
and Maggie Cheung
's characters meet to write their kung fu novel serial. It is the number of a hotel room occupied by Lulu, and later by Bai Ling at the Oriental Hotel, while Tony Leung's room number is 2047.
The main character (Tony Leung) writes science fiction stories, in which 2046 is a popular year and place to which people travel through time
. The stories are titled 2046 and later 2047 (a collaboration with Faye Wong's character).
The year 2046 has its own significance for Hong Kong. It is 49 years after the handover of Hong Kong
by the British on 1 July 1997. At the time of handover, the Mainland
government
promised fifty years of self-regulation
for the former British colony. The year 2046 references the moment before Hong Kong's special, self-regulated status ends.
, based on 106 reviews.
One of the best reviews came from Manohla Dargis
in The New York Times
, who called the film, "An unqualified triumph," and praised Zhang Ziyi's performance, states: "Ms. Zhang's shockingly intense performance burns a hole in the film that gives everything, including all the other relationships, a sense of terrific urgency." Dargis also describes the film:
In Premiere
, Glenn Kenny gave the film four stars and ranked it as one of the ten best films of 2005:
Said Ty Burr of The Boston Globe
:
Daniel Eagan of Film Journal International
:
One of the less enthusiastic reviews came from Roger Ebert
who, in the Chicago Sun-Times
, gave the film a midly-negative 2½ stars out of a possible four and a "marginal thumbs down" on the television show Ebert & Roeper.
The official journal of the Film Society of Lincoln Center
, Film Comment
s 2005 end-of-the-year film critics' poll, placed the film as the second best film of that year, with 668 points. 2046 was called the best film of 2005 by Michael Atkinson (The Village Voice
), Daryl Chin (Journal of Performance and Art), Josef Brown (Vue Weekly
), Sean Burns (Philadelphia Weekly
), Will Sloan (The Martingrove Beacon), and Justine Elias (The Guardian
), and was ranked among the top ten best films of the year by Manohla Dargis (The New York Times
), Richard Corliss
(Time Magazine), Same Adams (Philadelphia City Paper
), Leslie Camhi (The Village Voice
), Jason Anderson (eye Weekly
), Gary Dretzka (Movie City News), Godfrey Cheshire (The Independent Weekly
), Ty Burr (The Boston Globe
), Liza Bear (indieWIRE
), Edward Crouse (The Village Voice
), Jeffrey M. Anderson (The San Francisco Examiner
), John DeFore (Austin American Statesman), Brian Brooks (indieWIRE
), Chris Barsanti (Filmcritic.com), F.X. Feeney (L.A. Weekly), David Ehrnstein (New Times), J. Hoberman (The Village Voice
), Robert Horton (Everett Herald), Bilge Ebiri (Nerve
), Eugene Hernandez (indieWIRE
)
on 5 August 2005, where it grossed US$
113,074 on four screens ($28,268 average). In Wong Kar-wai's home country of Hong Kong, 2046 earned a total of US$
778,138. It went on to gross a total of $1,444,588 in North America, playing at 61 venues at its widest release. Its total worldwide box office gross is US$19,271,312.
at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival
.
In November 2004, it won awards for Best Art Direction and Best Original Film Score at the Golden Horse Film Festival in Taiwan
.
In March 2005, it was nominated in numerous categories at the Hong Kong Film Awards
, winning Best Actor (Tony Leung
), Best Actress (Zhang Ziyi
), Best Cinematography (Christopher Doyle
), Best Costume Design and Make-Up, Best Art Direction, and Best Original Film Score (Shigeru Umebayashi
).
Adopted music:
Hong Kong films of 2004
A list of films produced in Hong Kong in 2004:.-2004:-External links:* * Hong Kong films of 2004 at...
(filmed in Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
) written and directed by Wong Kar-wai
Wong Kar-wai
Wong Kar-wai BBS is a Hong Kong Second Wave filmmaker, internationally renowned as an auteur for his visually unique, highly stylized, emotionally resonant work, including Days of Being Wild , Ashes of Time , Chungking Express , Fallen Angels , Happy Together and 2046...
. It is a loose sequel to the 1991 Hong Kong film
Hong Kong films of 1991
A list of films produced in Hong Kong in 1991:.-1991:-External links:* * Hong Kong films of 1991 at...
Days of Being Wild
Days of Being Wild
Days of Being Wild is a 1990 Hong Kong film directed by Wong Kar-wai. The film stars some of the best-known actors and actresses in Hong Kong, including Leslie Cheung, Carina Lau, Maggie Cheung, Jacky Cheung and Andy Lau. Tony Leung Chiu Wai also appears in a silent cameo role lasting several...
and the 2000 Hong Kong film
Hong Kong films of 2000
A list of films produced in Hong Kong in 2000:.-2000:-External links:* * Hong Kong films of 2000 at...
In the Mood for Love
In the Mood for Love
In the Mood for Love is a 2000 Hong Kong film directed by Wong Kar-wai, starring Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung...
. It follows the aftermath of Chow Mo-wan's unconsummated affair with Su Li-Zhen in 1960s Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
but also includes some science fiction
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
elements.
Plot
The film is the third chapter of a shared story that began with Days of Being WildDays of Being Wild
Days of Being Wild is a 1990 Hong Kong film directed by Wong Kar-wai. The film stars some of the best-known actors and actresses in Hong Kong, including Leslie Cheung, Carina Lau, Maggie Cheung, Jacky Cheung and Andy Lau. Tony Leung Chiu Wai also appears in a silent cameo role lasting several...
and continued with In the Mood for Love
In the Mood for Love
In the Mood for Love is a 2000 Hong Kong film directed by Wong Kar-wai, starring Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung...
.
There are four main story arcs to the film. Three are about the relations of Chow with women that he meets after losing Su Li-Zhen. The first concerns Chow and Wang Jing Wen, the second is about Chow and Bai Ling, and the third is about Chow and a different woman who is also named Su Li-Zhen. The fourth takes place in Chow's mysterious world of 2046 and concerns a Japanese passenger falling in love with an android. Typical of Wong Kar-wai films, the arcs are presented in pieces and in non-chronological order.
The approximate order of the arcs is listed below.
2047 Arc Part I
This section is the only part narrated by Chow's fictional character and not Chow himself. Set in the far future, a huge rail network connects the planet. The world is a vast dystopia, and lonely souls all try to reach a mysterious place called 2046 in order to recapture lost loves. In the world of 2046 nothing ever changes, so there is never loss or sadness. No one has ever returned from 2046 except the protagonist, a lonely Japanese man named Tak (played by Takuya Kimura
Takuya Kimura
, nicknamed , is a Japanese singer and actor. He is also a member of the Japanese idol group SMAP. Most of the TV dramas he starred in produced high ratings in Japan...
). As the story begins, Tak is on a long train ride returning from 2046.
"All Memories Are Traces of Tears"
As Chow Mo-Wan's life is revisited, we learn that he is still struggling to get over the loss of his idealized love, Su Li-Zhen. He returns to Hong Kong after being in Singapore for a number of years to try to forget his anguish. To cover up his pain, he becomes a suave ladies' man. Chow attends many lavish parties and beds many women.
On Christmas Eve, Chow meets Lulu from the first film (Days of Being Wild
Days of Being Wild
Days of Being Wild is a 1990 Hong Kong film directed by Wong Kar-wai. The film stars some of the best-known actors and actresses in Hong Kong, including Leslie Cheung, Carina Lau, Maggie Cheung, Jacky Cheung and Andy Lau. Tony Leung Chiu Wai also appears in a silent cameo role lasting several...
) whom he remembers from Singapore, although she has no recollection of him. That night, Chow Mo-wan takes Lulu home as she is quite drunk, but accidentally keeps her room key. As he leaves, he notices that her room number is 2046, the same room number that he and Su Li Zhen had when they conducted their private affair. Upon returning a few days later to return the room key, the landlord informs Chow that the room is not available due to renovations. The landlord offers him the adjacent room 2047. Chow later learns that Lulu was stabbed in the room the night before by a jealous boyfriend.
Chow agrees to rent room 2047 in the meantime. After the renovation of room 2046 is complete, the landlord asks Chow if he wants to move in. However, by this time he has gotten used to room 2047 and decides to stay there. The rooms 2046 and 2047 are connected by a common hallway, Chow regularly watches and gets involved with the people that move into 2046.
Wang Jing Wen and Wang Jie Wen Arc Part I
The first person that moves next door into 2046 is the landlord's daughter, Wang Jing Wen (played by Faye Wong
Faye Wong
Faye Wong is a highly successful and influential Chinese singer-songwriter and actress who is usually referred to as a diva . Early in her career she briefly used the stage name Shirley Wong . Born in Beijing, she moved to Hong Kong in 1987 and rose to stardom in the early 1990s by singing...
). Chow spends a good deal of time just observing her from his room. He learns that she has a Japanese boyfriend working in Hong Kong. Unfortunately, the relationship is forbidden by her father. Eventually, Wang breaks up with her boyfriend, then suffers a breakdown and is institutionalized. Afterwards, the next tenant that moves into 2046 is the younger daughter of the landlord, Wang Jie Wen. She is young, attractive, and flirtatious. She frequently tries to seduce him but he refuses each time.
A short time later, Chow runs into some financial difficulties, and stops going out. To make some extra money, he starts to write a science fiction series called 2046. The story is set in the distant future, about a group of heart sick individuals looking for love. The only place to find it is at a mysterious location called 2046. Virtually all of the characters in 2046 are based on people that Chow has met, such as Su Li-Zhen, Lulu, or Wang Jing Wen. Whether 2046 is a place, a room, or a state of mind is never explicitly defined. Chow makes the story somewhat bizarre and erotic, and readers seem to take notice.
Bai Ling Arc Part I
The third person to move into room 2046 is the coquettish Bai Ling (Zhang Ziyi
Zhang Ziyi
Zhang Ziyi is a Chinese film actress. Zhang is coined by the media as one of the Four Young Dan actresses in the Film Industry in China, along with Zhao Wei, Xu Jinglei, and Zhou Xun...
). She wears similar qipao
Qipao
The cheongsam is a body-hugging one-piece Chinese dress for women; the male version is the changshan. It is known in Mandarin Chinese as the qípáo Wade-Giles ch'i-p'ao, and is also known in English as a mandarin gown...
dresses as the original Su Li-Zhen but radiates a much more aggressive sensuality than her. While it is never explicitly stated in the film, it is implied that she is a nightclub girl who occasionally doubles as a high-class prostitute. However, she is intent on finding a long-term relationship. In one instance, when Chow overhears her arguing with a man, Bai tells the man that to continue seeing her, he must end his relationship with the other woman. Chow again spends a lot of time observing her across the thin wall separating rooms 2046 and 2047.
On the next Christmas Eve, Bai runs into Chow just after she is dumped by her boyfriend before they are to go to Singapore. Chow suggests that they go for dinner, to which she grudgingly accepts. During dinner, Chow tells Bai about his experiences in Singapore. She is intrigued, and after dinner she agrees to try to form a platonic friendship with him by borrowing time from each other. Their brief friendship does not last however, as they soon develop carnal lust for each other. Not surprisingly, Chow wants to keep the relationship strictly physical; he continues to pick up other prostitutes. To compromise, Bai soon develops a compensation system where he pays her 10 Hong Kong dollars (a trivial sum) each time he stays over. However, over time Bai finds that she has feelings for Chow, and she asks him to discontinue seeing other women. Chow refuses and gives a counter offer, the option to be his customer for $10 each night. Bai is crushed and breaks things off with Chow. As a way of revenge, Bai then descends into seeing men exclusively for money, frequently changing partners. A short while later, she moves out of Room 2046.
Wang Jing Wen Part II
After Bai Ling moves out, Wang Jin Wen moves back into 2046 after returning from the mental hospital. She is a shell of a former self, and still very depressed over the loss of her Japanese boyfriend. Her ex writes numerous letters in an attempt to reconcile with her, but she refuses due to her father.
Wang passes the time by assisting her father at the hotel. She also starts to spend more and more time with Chow helping him with his writing and editing. At this point, he is regularly publishing chapters of 2046. These scenes are very similar to those in In the Mood for Love when Su Li-Zhen used to help Chow with his writing in their hotel room. Chow remarks that this period in his life is the happiest that he has been after Su Li-Zhen. However, before he realizes it, he develops feelings for Wang Jing Wen. He makes some minor attempts to start a romance with her, but nothing develops since she is still very much in love with the Japanese man.
One day Wang Jin Wen asks Chow rhetorically if some things in life never change. He answers her by writing a story called 2047. In this story, a Japanese man leaves the world of 2046, but falls in love on the journey home. While he initially tried to base the story on Wang Jing Wen's ex-boyfriend, he realizes that the story is ultimately about himself.
2047 Arc Part II
Chow's fictional world is revisited. However, this time it is narrated by Chow himself. Set in the far future, for passengers to reach or leave 2046 they must take a long journey on a vast train network. The main character, Tak (who is portrayed by Wang Jing Wen's Japanese boyfriend) is trying to leave 2046 because he lost the love of his life in that world. As the train travels through the extremely cold sections 1224-1225, Tak becomes intimate with one of the train's female android assistants (played by Faye Wong) and later falls in love with her. He then asks her numerous times to come with him. However, each time the android does not answer. Tak has heard earlier that excessive operation causes the android's response time to slow down and decides to wait on the train to see if this is the case. He sits quietly on the train, and counts the seconds that go by, hoping the android will decide to leave with him. However, the android still does not respond. Ultimately, Tak realizes that it is not a delayed reaction that causes that android not to respond, but that she is in love with someone else and that their relationship is simply not meant to be. With this knowledge, he finally has the strength to leave the train and 2046. Completing the story marks a turning point in Chow's recovery.
Wang Jing Wen Part III
Next Christmas, Chow invites Wang Jing Wen out to dinner. After finding out that she still misses her ex in Japan, he takes her to his office so that she can call him to wish him well. Looking sadly through the window panes as Wang Jing Wen is overjoyed talking to her ex, Chow remarks that in fact Section 1224-1225 from the story are simply the dates for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day when everyone is especially lonely and needs additional love. He goes on to say that while he had feelings for her, and most likely could have taken advantage of the situation (as he did the previous year with Bai Ling) he was happy that in this situation he did the "right thing". The call re-ignites the romance. Soon afterward, Wang Jing Wen moves to Japan and gets engaged.
A short while later, while still feeling depressed over the loss of Wang Jing Wen, Chow runs into Lulu again as she has a violent confrontation with another woman that is sleeping with her current playboy boyfriend. This incident is identical to one that occurred in the original Days of Being Wild when she confronted the original Su Li-Zhen for sleeping with Yuddy. Chow remarks that Lulu, is likely to forever remain living in the past. However, he then remarks that this is not really a sad thing, as she seems perfectly content to be miserable. The incident strengthens Chow's resolve to get over Su Li-Zhen.
Bai Ling Arc Part II
Some time later, Chow gets a call from Bai Ling and the two go out to dinner. This time, Bai looks much less glamorous and more "run-down". She informs Chow that she plans to leave for Singapore, and asks him to provide a reference and plane fare. She also asks where he was last Christmas, as she stopped by at that time, and was hoping to see him. In fact, she remarks that she really misses him. It turns out, during last Christmas, Chow had gone back to Singapore in an attempt to find a former lover, another woman named Su Li-Zhen (played by Gong Li
Gong Li
Gong Li is a Chinese film actress. Gong first came into international prominence through close collaboration with Chinese director Zhang Yimou and is credited with helping to bring Chinese cinema to Europe and the United States....
).
Su Li-Zhen Arc
Chronologically, this arc occurs first in the film. Chow met the second Su Li-Zhen some years back when he first arrived in Singapore. At that time, he was still grieving over losing the original Su Li-Zhen and spending much of his free time in the local casinos. After losing much of his savings, he encounters the second Su Li-Zhen, a mysterious gambler. They become lovers, and he soon wants to know everything about her. But she insists that he beat her in a "high-card" draw before she will reveal anything about her past, which he never is able to do. Eventually, she agrees to help him win back his money so that he can return to Hong Kong. When she does so, he prepares to leave, and asks her to go with him. Again, she challenges him to a high-card draw, which he again loses. Knowing little about her, Chow speculates that she, like himself, has a troubled past.
Initially heartbroken about this, he remarks that after he completes the story '2047' he finally understands why the second Su Li-Zhen did not go with him, as he would again have tried to recapture the past by looking for elements of the original Su Li-Zhen. When Chow went back to Singapore to visit her the second time, he does not find her. He makes some inquiries as to her whereabouts and speculates that she either returned to Cambodia or was killed.
Bai Ling Arc Part III
Shortly after the events of 'Bai Ling Arc Part II' and the night before she boards a plane for Singapore, Chow again meets Bai Ling for dinner. Bai remarks that, between their two meetings, one of her clients has given her a lot of money and she wants to pay Chow back immediately. He refuses to take the money. Bai insists on paying for dinner, and Chow is stunned when she hands him a stack of money, each $10 bill representing one night they had spent together. Bai tells Chow to pay for dinner with this stack of bills, while unbeknownst to him, she sadly watches behind the restaurant's green window veils.
After dinner, Chow walks her back to her apartment. Grasping his hands at the apartment door, she begs him to lend his time to her once more and spend the night. She then asks him "Why can't it be like it was before?" He refuses to stay over, even out of pity, coldly stating that that is simply something he would never lend. He exits by jerking his hands away from her and remarks in voiceover that this was the last time he ever saw her. He leaves in a taxi, staring emptily into space, as the camera slowly enters a whispering hole.
Cast
- Tony Leung Chiu-Wai as Chow Mo-wan, the main character and narratorNarratorA narrator is, within any story , the fictional or non-fictional, personal or impersonal entity who tells the story to the audience. When the narrator is also a character within the story, he or she is sometimes known as the viewpoint character. The narrator is one of three entities responsible for...
. A journalist and writer, he is the same character, played by the same actor as in In the Mood for Love. He also appears in a silent cameo at the very end of Days of Being Wild. - Maggie CheungMaggie CheungMaggie Cheung Man yuk is a Chinese actress from Hong Kong. Raised in England and Hong Kong, she has over 70 films to her credit since starting her career in 1983...
as Su Li-Zhen, the woman Chow Mo-wan loved most. She appears only in flashback. See In the Mood for LoveIn the Mood for LoveIn the Mood for Love is a 2000 Hong Kong film directed by Wong Kar-wai, starring Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung...
. - Gong LiGong LiGong Li is a Chinese film actress. Gong first came into international prominence through close collaboration with Chinese director Zhang Yimou and is credited with helping to bring Chinese cinema to Europe and the United States....
as Another Su Li-Zhen. Presented as a "professional gambler" and nicknamed "Black Spider", she said that she was from Phnom PenhPhnom PenhPhnom Penh is the capital and largest city of Cambodia. Located on the banks of the Mekong River, Phnom Penh has been the national capital since the French colonized Cambodia, and has grown to become the nation's center of economic and industrial activities, as well as the center of security,...
. Chow Mo-wan met her in SingaporeSingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. - Wang Sum
- Mr. Wang, the hotel owner. He had taken singing lessons in HarbinHarbinHarbin ; Manchu language: , Harbin; Russian: Харби́н Kharbin ), is the capital and largest city of Heilongjiang Province in Northeast China, lying on the southern bank of the Songhua River...
, ChinaChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. - The captain of the train to (or from) 2046.
- Mr. Wang, the hotel owner. He had taken singing lessons in Harbin
- Faye WongFaye WongFaye Wong is a highly successful and influential Chinese singer-songwriter and actress who is usually referred to as a diva . Early in her career she briefly used the stage name Shirley Wong . Born in Beijing, she moved to Hong Kong in 1987 and rose to stardom in the early 1990s by singing...
- Wang Jing Wen (王靖雯, pyPinyinPinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
Wang Jingwen; which incidentally was Faye Wong's stage name as a singer until she changed it back to Faye Wong, , in 1994) . The first daughter of Mr. Wang, the hotel owner. She was in love with a Japanese man, a relationship that her father opposed strongly. - An android in the train to (or from) 2046.
- Wang Jing Wen (王靖雯, py
- Takuya KimuraTakuya Kimura, nicknamed , is a Japanese singer and actor. He is also a member of the Japanese idol group SMAP. Most of the TV dramas he starred in produced high ratings in Japan...
- A Japanese man, sent to Hong KongHong KongHong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
for a while by his company. He is Wang Jing Wen's boyfriend. - Tak, a passenger of the train to (or from) 2046.
- A Japanese man, sent to Hong Kong
- Dong JieDong JieDong Jie is a Chinese actress and dancer.-Biography:Dong made her debut in Zhang Yimou's Happy Times , where she played a blind girl mistreated by her stepmother. Zhang selected Dong after a casting call on the Internet...
- Wang Jie Wen. The second daughter of Mr. Wang, the hotel owner. - Carina LauCarina LauCarina Lau Kar-ling is a Hong Kong actress. She was especially notable in the 1980s for her girl-next-door type roles in films....
- Mimi/Lulu. See Days of Being WildDays of Being WildDays of Being Wild is a 1990 Hong Kong film directed by Wong Kar-wai. The film stars some of the best-known actors and actresses in Hong Kong, including Leslie Cheung, Carina Lau, Maggie Cheung, Jacky Cheung and Andy Lau. Tony Leung Chiu Wai also appears in a silent cameo role lasting several...
. - An android in the train to (or from) 2046.
- Mimi/Lulu. See Days of Being Wild
- Chang ChenChang ChenChang Chen is a Taiwanese actor, born in Taipei, Taiwan. His name is sometimes seen in the Western order . He is the son of a Taiwanese actor Chang Kuo Chu and brother of a Taiwanese actor, Chang Han .-Career:...
- The drummer boyfriend of Mimi/Lulu. Played by Jacky CheungJacky CheungJacky Cheung is a Hong Kong singer-songwriter and actor. The Chinese language media refers to him, Aaron Kwok, Andy Lau and Leon Lai as the Cantopop Four Heavenly Kings , with more than 60 million records sold as of 2000....
in Days of Being Wild. - A passenger of the train to (or from) 2046.
- The drummer boyfriend of Mimi/Lulu. Played by Jacky Cheung
- Zhang ZiyiZhang ZiyiZhang Ziyi is a Chinese film actress. Zhang is coined by the media as one of the Four Young Dan actresses in the Film Industry in China, along with Zhao Wei, Xu Jinglei, and Zhou Xun...
as Bai Ling. A beautiful cabaret girl who lived in room 2046 in the Oriental Hotel, and a lover of Chow Mo-wan. - Siu Ping-lam as Ah Ping, a colleague and friend of Chow Mo-wan.
- Bird McIntyreBird McIntyreThongchai "Bird" McIntyre is a Thai pop singer who released his debut album in 1986. He is also sometimes known as Bird Thongchai, Pe Bird or simply Bird....
Production
Total secrecy surrounded the film before its release, and this led to a lot of speculation as to the significance of the number "2046". Many thought the title referenced the year in which the film would be set, and that it would be a science fiction filmScience fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
. It also became an in-joke that the title would actually refer to the year of release.
It took four years to complete the film. During that time, production was closed because of the SARS epidemic in March 2003
Progress of the SARS outbreak
-November 2002:On November 16, 2002, an outbreak of what is believed to be severe acute respiratory syndrome , began in the Guangdong province of China, which borders on Hong Kong. The first case of infection was speculated to be a farmer in Foshan County...
. The film premiered at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival
2004 Cannes Film Festival
The 2004 Cannes Film Festival started on May 12 and ran until May 23. The Palme d'Or went to the American film Fahrenheit 9/11 by Michael Moore.-Jury:* Quentin Tarantino, President * Emmanuelle Béart * Edwidge Danticat * Tilda Swinton...
with the film reels arriving straight from the laboratory, causing a delay in the festival schedule. After the premiere, Wong took the film back and continued editing until October, when it was released to theaters.
It was picked up by Sony Pictures Classics for distribution in the United States, and was released on 5 August 2005.
Title
2046 is the number of the hotel room in In the Mood for Love in which Tony Leung Chiu WaiTony Leung Chiu Wai
Tony Leung Chiu-Wai is a Hong Kong film actor and former TVB actor. A major film star since the 1990s, Leung has won nine Hong Kong Film Awards and three Golden Horse Best Actor awards...
and Maggie Cheung
Maggie Cheung
Maggie Cheung Man yuk is a Chinese actress from Hong Kong. Raised in England and Hong Kong, she has over 70 films to her credit since starting her career in 1983...
's characters meet to write their kung fu novel serial. It is the number of a hotel room occupied by Lulu, and later by Bai Ling at the Oriental Hotel, while Tony Leung's room number is 2047.
The main character (Tony Leung) writes science fiction stories, in which 2046 is a popular year and place to which people travel through time
Time travel
Time travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space. Time travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the...
. The stories are titled 2046 and later 2047 (a collaboration with Faye Wong's character).
The year 2046 has its own significance for Hong Kong. It is 49 years after the handover of Hong Kong
Transfer of the sovereignty of Hong Kong
The transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China, referred to as ‘the Return’ or ‘the Reunification’ by the Chinese and ‘the Handover’ by others, took place on 1 July 1997...
by the British on 1 July 1997. At the time of handover, the Mainland
Mainland China
Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...
government
Economy of the People's Republic of China
The People's Republic of China ranks since 2010 as the world's second largest economy after the United States. It has been the world's fastest-growing major economy, with consistent growth rates of around 10% over the past 30 years. China is also the largest exporter and second largest importer of...
promised fifty years of self-regulation
One country, two systems
"One country, two systems" is an idea originally proposed by Deng Xiaoping, then Paramount Leader of the People's Republic of China , for the reunification of China during the early 1980s...
for the former British colony. The year 2046 references the moment before Hong Kong's special, self-regulated status ends.
Critical reception
In its North American release, 2046 received generally positive, sometimes glowing reviews from critics. It has an 84% approval rating on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, based on 106 reviews.
One of the best reviews came from Manohla Dargis
Manohla Dargis
Manohla Dargis is a chief film critic for The New York Times, along with A.O. Scott. She was formerly a chief film critic for the Los Angeles Times, the film editor at the LA Weekly, and a film critic at The Village Voice. She has written for a variety of publications, including Film Comment and...
in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, who called the film, "An unqualified triumph," and praised Zhang Ziyi's performance, states: "Ms. Zhang's shockingly intense performance burns a hole in the film that gives everything, including all the other relationships, a sense of terrific urgency." Dargis also describes the film:
"Routinely criticized for his weak narratives, Mr. Wong is one of the few filmmakers working in commercial cinema who refuse to be enslaved by traditional storytelling. He isn't the first and certainly not the only one to pry cinema from the grip of classical narrative, to take a pickax to the usual three-act architecture (or at least shake the foundation), while also dispatching with the art-deadening requirements (redemption, closure, ad nauseam) that have turned much of Big Hollywood into a creative dead zone. Like some avant-garde filmmakers and like his contemporary, Hou Hsiao-hsienHou Hsiao-HsienHou Hsiao-Hsien is an award-winning film director and a leading figure of Taiwan's New Wave cinema movement.-Biography:...
of Taiwan, among precious few others these days, Mr. Wong makes movies, still a young art, that create meaning through visual images, not just words." http://movies2.nytimes.com/2005/08/05/movies/05wong.html?ex=1157688000&en=801be294f8fdc85e&ei=5070
In Premiere
Premiere (magazine)
Premiere was an American and New York City-based film magazine published by Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., published between the years 1987 and 2007. The original version of the magazine, Première , was started in France in 1976 and is still being published there.-History:The magazine originally...
, Glenn Kenny gave the film four stars and ranked it as one of the ten best films of 2005:
"Insanely evocative '60s-style landscapes and settings share screen space with claustrophobic futuristic CGI metropolises; everyone smokes and drinks too much; musical themes repeat as characters get stuck in their own self-defeating modes of eternal return. A puzzle, a valentine, a sacred hymn to beauty, particularly that of Ziyi Zhang, almost preternaturally gorgeous and delivering an ineffable performance, and a cynical shrug of the shoulders at the damned impermanence of it all, 2046 is a movie to live in."
Said Ty Burr of The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
:
"Is it worth the challenge? Of course it is. Wong stands as the leading heir to the great directors of post-WWII Europe: His work combines the playfulness and disenchantment of Godard, the visual fantasias of Fellini, the chic existentialism of Antonioni, and Bergman's brooding uncertainties. In this film, he drills further into an obsession with memory, time, and longing than may even be good for him, and his world reflects and refracts our own more than may be comfortable for us. Love hurts in 2046, but it's the only way anybody knows they're alive."
Daniel Eagan of Film Journal International
Film Journal International
Film Journal International is a motion-picture industry trade magazine published by the American company Prometheus Global Media. It is a sister publication of Adweek, Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, and other periodicals....
:
"it's clear his [Wong Kar Wai] skills and interests have no match in today's cinema. Whatever his motives, Wong has assembled a remarkable team for this film. The cinematography, production design and editing combine for a mood of utter languor and decadence. Leung Chiu-wai continues his string of outstanding roles, while pop singer Wong achieves a gravity missing from her earlier work...it's Zhang who is the real surprise here...her performance puts her on a level with the world's best actresses."
One of the less enthusiastic reviews came from Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
who, in the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
, gave the film a midly-negative 2½ stars out of a possible four and a "marginal thumbs down" on the television show Ebert & Roeper.
"2046 arrived at the last minute at Cannes 2003, after missing its earlier screenings; the final reel reportedly arrived at the airport almost as the first was being shown. It was said to be unfinished, and indeed there were skeletal special effects that now appear in final form, but perhaps it was never really finished in his mind. Perhaps he would have appreciated the luxury that Woody AllenWoody AllenWoody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
had with Crimes and MisdemeanorsCrimes and MisdemeanorsCrimes and Misdemeanors is a 1989 black comedy written, directed by and co-starring Woody Allen, alongside Martin Landau, Mia Farrow, Anjelica Huston, Jerry Orbach, Alan Alda, Sam Waterston and Joanna Gleason....
; he looked at the first cut of the film, threw out the first act, called the actors back and reshot, focusing on what turned out to be the central story. Watching 2046, I wonder what it could possibly mean to anyone not familiar with Wong's work and style. Unlike In the Mood for LoveIn the Mood for LoveIn the Mood for Love is a 2000 Hong Kong film directed by Wong Kar-wai, starring Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung...
, it is not a self-contained film, although it's certainly a lovely meander."
The official journal of the Film Society of Lincoln Center
Film Society of Lincoln Center
The Film Society of Lincoln Center based in New York City, United States, is one of the world's most prominent film presentation organizations. Founded in 1969 by three Lincoln Center executives - William F. May, Martin E. Segal and Schuyler G...
, Film Comment
Film Comment
Film Comment is an arts and culture magazine published by the Film Society of Lincoln Center, of which it is the official publication. Film Comment features critical reviews and in-depth analysis of mainstream, art-house, and avant-garde filmmaking from around the world...
s 2005 end-of-the-year film critics' poll, placed the film as the second best film of that year, with 668 points. 2046 was called the best film of 2005 by Michael Atkinson (The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
), Daryl Chin (Journal of Performance and Art), Josef Brown (Vue Weekly
Vue Weekly
Vue Weekly is an alternative weekly newspaper published in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and with new issues coming out every Thursday.Vue was founded in 1995 by former employees and owners of SEE Magazine, upset over losing control of SEE to creditors...
), Sean Burns (Philadelphia Weekly
Philadelphia Weekly
Philadelphia Weekly , is an award-winning alternative newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, published every Wednesday.The paper was founded in 1971 as a sister publication to the South Philadelphia Press. In 1995, the paper became Philadelphia Weekly...
), Will Sloan (The Martingrove Beacon), and Justine Elias (The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
), and was ranked among the top ten best films of the year by Manohla Dargis (The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
), Richard Corliss
Richard Corliss
Richard Nelson Corliss is a writer for Time magazine who focuses on movies, with the occasional article on music or sports. Corliss is the former editor-in-chief of Film Comment...
(Time Magazine), Same Adams (Philadelphia City Paper
Philadelphia City Paper
Philadelphia City Paper is a free alternative news weekly in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was established in November 1981 as a spin-off of the now defunct WXPN Express newsletter. New issues are released every Thursday....
), Leslie Camhi (The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
), Jason Anderson (eye Weekly
Eye Weekly
Eye Weekly was a free weekly newspaper published in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was owned by Torstar, the parent company of the Toronto Star, and was published by their Star Media Group until its final issue on May 5, 2011. The following week, Torstar launched a successor publication, The Grid.-...
), Gary Dretzka (Movie City News), Godfrey Cheshire (The Independent Weekly
The Independent Weekly
The Independent Weekly, established in September 2004, is an independent newspaper published and circulated in Adelaide, capital of South Australia...
), Ty Burr (The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
), Liza Bear (indieWIRE
IndieWire
indieWIRE is a daily news site for the independent film community. It covers indie, documentary and foreign language films, as well industry news, film festival reports, filmmaker interviews and movie reviews...
), Edward Crouse (The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
), Jeffrey M. Anderson (The San Francisco Examiner
The San Francisco Examiner
The San Francisco Examiner is a U.S. daily newspaper. It has been published continuously in San Francisco, California, since the late 19th century.-19th century:...
), John DeFore (Austin American Statesman), Brian Brooks (indieWIRE
IndieWire
indieWIRE is a daily news site for the independent film community. It covers indie, documentary and foreign language films, as well industry news, film festival reports, filmmaker interviews and movie reviews...
), Chris Barsanti (Filmcritic.com), F.X. Feeney (L.A. Weekly), David Ehrnstein (New Times), J. Hoberman (The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
), Robert Horton (Everett Herald), Bilge Ebiri (Nerve
Nerve
A peripheral nerve, or simply nerve, is an enclosed, cable-like bundle of peripheral axons . A nerve provides a common pathway for the electrochemical nerve impulses that are transmitted along each of the axons. Nerves are found only in the peripheral nervous system...
), Eugene Hernandez (indieWIRE
IndieWire
indieWIRE is a daily news site for the independent film community. It covers indie, documentary and foreign language films, as well industry news, film festival reports, filmmaker interviews and movie reviews...
)
Box office
2046 opened in North AmericaNorth America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
on 5 August 2005, where it grossed US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
113,074 on four screens ($28,268 average). In Wong Kar-wai's home country of Hong Kong, 2046 earned a total of US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
778,138. It went on to gross a total of $1,444,588 in North America, playing at 61 venues at its widest release. Its total worldwide box office gross is US$19,271,312.
Accolades
In April 2004, the film was nominated for the Golden PalmPalme d'Or
The Palme d'Or is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival and is presented to the director of the best feature film of the official competition. It was introduced in 1955 by the organising committee. From 1939 to 1954, the highest prize was the Grand Prix du Festival International du...
at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival
2004 Cannes Film Festival
The 2004 Cannes Film Festival started on May 12 and ran until May 23. The Palme d'Or went to the American film Fahrenheit 9/11 by Michael Moore.-Jury:* Quentin Tarantino, President * Emmanuelle Béart * Edwidge Danticat * Tilda Swinton...
.
In November 2004, it won awards for Best Art Direction and Best Original Film Score at the Golden Horse Film Festival in Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
.
In March 2005, it was nominated in numerous categories at the Hong Kong Film Awards
Hong Kong Film Awards
The Hong Kong Film Awards , founded in 1982, are the most prestigious film awards in Hong Kong and among the most respected in mainland China and Taiwan. Award ceremonies are held annually, typically in April. The Awards recognize achievement in all aspects of filmmaking, such as directing,...
, winning Best Actor (Tony Leung
Tony Leung Chiu Wai
Tony Leung Chiu-Wai is a Hong Kong film actor and former TVB actor. A major film star since the 1990s, Leung has won nine Hong Kong Film Awards and three Golden Horse Best Actor awards...
), Best Actress (Zhang Ziyi
Zhang Ziyi
Zhang Ziyi is a Chinese film actress. Zhang is coined by the media as one of the Four Young Dan actresses in the Film Industry in China, along with Zhao Wei, Xu Jinglei, and Zhou Xun...
), Best Cinematography (Christopher Doyle
Christopher Doyle
Christopher Doyle is a cinematographer. He has won the AFI Award for cinematography, the Cannes Technical Grand Prize, Golden Osella, the Golden Horse awards , and Hong Kong Film Award . Doyle is an affiliate of the Hong Kong Society of Cinematographers.-Biography:Doyle was born in Sydney,...
), Best Costume Design and Make-Up, Best Art Direction, and Best Original Film Score (Shigeru Umebayashi
Shigeru Umebayashi
is a Japanese composer.Once the leader of Japan's new-wave rock band EX, composer Shigeru Umebayashi began scoring films in 1985 when the band broke up. He has more than 40 Japanese and Chinese films to his credit and is perhaps best known in the West for his score for director Wong Kar-wai's In...
).
Music
Original music:- Shigeru UmebayashiShigeru Umebayashiis a Japanese composer.Once the leader of Japan's new-wave rock band EX, composer Shigeru Umebayashi began scoring films in 1985 when the band broke up. He has more than 40 Japanese and Chinese films to his credit and is perhaps best known in the West for his score for director Wong Kar-wai's In...
- "2046 Main Theme" (scenes 5, 15 and closing credits), "2046 Main Theme (Rumba Version)" (scene 25), "Interlude I" (scenes 29, 38), "Polonaise" (scenes 37, 43), "Lost", "Long Journey" (Scenes 40-41), "Interlude II" (Scene 30), "2046 Main Theme" (With Percussion, Train Remix)
Adopted music:
- Peer RabenPeer RabenPeer Raben was a composer best known for his work with German film-maker Rainer Werner Fassbinder.-Life:Raben was born Wilhelm Rabenbauer in Viechtach, Bavaria...
- "Dark Chariot" (Scenes 7-9, 12-13) from Rainer Werner FassbinderRainer Werner FassbinderRainer Werner Maria Fassbinder was a German movie director, screenwriter and actor. He is considered one of the most important representatives of the New German Cinema.He maintained a frenetic pace in film-making...
's QuerelleQuerelleQuerelle, a 1982 film directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, adapted from French author Jean Genet's 1947 novel Querelle de Brest. It marked Fassbinder's final film as a writer/director; it was posthumously released just months after the director died of a drug overdose in June 1982.-Plot:The plot...
(1982) and "Sisyphos At Work" (Scene 4) from Fassbinder's film The Third GenerationThe Third GenerationThe Third Generation is a 1979 West German film, a black comedy about terrorism, written, directed and cinematographed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder. The plot follows an ineffectual cell of underground terrorist who plan to kidnap an industrialist.-Plot:...
(1979) - Xavier CugatXavier CugatXavier Cugat was a Spanish-American bandleader who spent his formative years in Havana, Cuba. A trained violinist and arranger, he was a key personality in the spread of Latin music in United States popular music. He was also a cartoonist and a successful businessman...
- "SiboneySiboney (song)Siboney is a 1929 classic Cuban song by Ernesto Lecuona. The music is in cut time, originally written in C major. The lyrics were reportedly written by Lucuona while away from Cuba and is about the homesickness he is experiencing .Siboney became a hit in 1931 when performed by the Cuban singer...
" (scenes 6 (instrumental), 17, 19, 24), "Perfidia" (scenes 10, 39) - Dean MartinDean MartinDean Martin was an American singer, film actor, television star and comedian. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"...
- "Sway" (scene 18) - Georges DelerueGeorges DelerueGeorges Delerue , was a French film composer who composed over 350 scores for cinema and television. He won numerous important awards including Rome Prize , Emmy Award , Genie Award , ACE Award and Academy Award for Best Original Score in 1979 for A...
- "Julien et Barbara" from François TruffautFrançois TruffautFrançois Roland Truffaut was an influential film critic and filmmaker and one of the founders of the French New Wave. In a film career lasting over a quarter of a century, he remains an icon of the French film industry. He was also a screenwriter, producer, and actor working on over twenty-five...
's Vivement Dimanche! (1983) (scenes 21-23, 42) - Connie FrancisConnie FrancisConnie Francis is an American pop singer of Italian heritage and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1950s and 1960s. Although her chart success waned in the second half of the 1960s, Francis remained a top concert draw...
- "Siboney" - Vincenzo BelliniVincenzo BelliniVincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini was an Italian opera composer. His greatest works are I Capuleti ed i Montecchi , La sonnambula , Norma , Beatrice di Tenda , and I puritani...
and Felice RomaniFelice RomaniFelice Romani was an Italian poet and scholar of literature and mythology who wrote many librettos for the opera composers Donizetti and Bellini. Romani was considered the finest Italian librettist between Metastasio and Boito.-Biography:Born Giuseppe Felice Romani to a bourgeois family in Genoa,...
- "Casta Diva" from Bellini's NormaNorma (opera)Norma is a tragedia lirica or opera in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini with libretto by Felice Romani after Norma, ossia L'infanticidio by Alexandre Soumet. First produced at La Scala on December 26, 1831, it is generally regarded as an example of the supreme height of the bel canto tradition...
, performed by Angela GheorghiuAngela GheorghiuAngela Gheorghiu is a Romanian soprano opera singer. Since her professional debut in 1990, she has sung as soprano leading roles at New York's Metropolitan Opera, Covent Garden's Royal Opera House, the Vienna State Opera, Milan's La Scala, and many other opera houses in Europe and the United States...
and the London Symphony OrchestraLondon Symphony OrchestraThe London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...
, directed by Evelino Pido - recorded in 2000 (scenes 11, 14, 28, 36) and Bellini's Il pirataIl pirataIl pirata is an opera in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini to an Italian libretto by Felice Romani from a French translation of the tragic play Bertram, or The Castle of St Aldobrando by Charles Maturin...
(scenes 16, 26) - Zbigniew PreisnerZbigniew PreisnerZbigniew Preisner is a Polish film score composer, best known for his work with film director Krzysztof Kieślowski.-Life:Zbigniew Preisner studied history and philosophy in Kraków. Never having received formal music lessons, he taught himself music by listening and transcribing parts from records....
- "Decision" from Thou shalt not killThou Shalt Not KillThou Shalt Not Kill may refer to:*"Thou Shalt Not Kill" , an episode of Spooks*Thou Shalt Not Kill , a film starring Lane Smith*Thou Shalt Not Kill , a film starring Steven Webb...
, part 5 of Krzysztof KieślowskiKrzysztof KieslowskiKrzysztof Kieślowski was an Academy Award nominated influential Polish film director and screenwriter, known internationally for The Double Life of Veronique and his film cycles The Decalogue and Three Colors.-Early life:...
's The DecalogueThe DecalogueThe Decalogue is a 1989 Polish television drama series directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski and co-written by Kieślowski with Krzysztof Piesiewicz, with music by Zbigniew Preisner... - Secret GardenSecret Garden (duo)Secret Garden is an award-winning Irish-Norwegian duo playing New Instrumental Music, also sometimes erroneously known as Neo-classical music.Secret Garden features the Irish violinist Fionnuala Sherry and the Norwegian composer/pianist Rolf Løvland...
- "Adagio" with David AgnewDavid Agnew"David Agnew" was a particular kind of pen name, employed exclusively on BBC television drama programmes of the 1970s. It was used only as a scriptwriting credit.-Conditions of use:...
(cor anglaisCor anglaisThe cor anglais , or English horn , is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family....
) (scenes 3, 27, 31, 34) - Nat King ColeNat King ColeNathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres...
and the Nat King Cole Trio - "The Christmas SongThe Christmas Song"The Christmas Song" is a classic Christmas song written in 1944 by musician, composer, and vocalist Mel Tormé and Bob Wells. According to Tormé, the song was written during a blistering hot summer...
" (1946 version with strings) (scenes 20, 35)
External links
- Official website, by Jet Tone Films Ltd (Hong Kong)
- 2046 at LoveHKFilm.com