2046
I knew it would be really, really hard to top “In the Mood for Love”. There is a reason why the film is most likely the most-acclaimed film of this century so far, and it’s probably hard for any new film to gain as much widespread approval from the critics; I suspect it will take another 10 years at least. That is how good the film was.
Even so, I would probably say that “2046” is mostly more of what we’ve had. Mood, cinematography and topic of the story are all similar. Even the way people love in this film are similar to “In the Mood for Love”. Basically, there really are only two major differences between the films: One, we finally see a fictionalized story and get a deeper insight to what the main character is actually writing. Two, we see the main character in a relationship with many women, but he didn’t truly love any of them. In that respect, all of “2046” reflects upon “In the Mood for Love” because every single one of his actions in this film are a way to cope with having lost the one woman he loved. That you cannot substitute love is the true message of the film, a very beautiful yet sad one. Whereas the love story from “In the Mood for Love” failed because of unfortunate circumstances, Chow’s relationships in this film fail because he became unable to have relationships, making the film even sadder.
The strangest thing both about “In the Mood for Love” and “2046”, or maybe even about Wong Kar-Wai’s style in general, is that I actually feel much more emotionally estranged from these films than I expect. The film makes me go “Oh God, this is so beautiful” yet at the same time, I don’t feel emotional when I see it. Wong Kar-Wai touches me on a ‘head’ level, but not in the heart. I don’t love like his characters love, that is for sure. I also noticed how none of them ever said “love”; it’s always “xi huan” or “suki” which is “like”. While it might be beautiful that people don’t confess their love to each other explicitly, it’s just not the type of thing I would do. I would say “I love you” straightforwardly and know that it would still be true five years later. Perhaps they are all just too Asian, who knows?
Acting-wise, I think that Gong Li got a completely boring role, Faye Wong is doing her job well, but Zhang Ziyi is clearly the most shining character here. I have always liked her, and she plays the troubled, superficial yet deeply loving woman perfectly. She is an actress you never would want to typecast into something: Innocent country girl, sexy love interest, prostitute – she’s done them all.
I wish Wong Kar-Wai had made more movies. At the end of the day, there aren’t very many directors who can do them better than him. But then again, can “My Blueberry Nights” etc. measure up to his ‘trilogy’?