2046

I have to admit that I'm a little bit surprised how generally tepid the reviews have been for Wong Kar-Wai's latest film, when I think it is one of his finest works. The fact that it is an indirect sequel to his modern classic, In the Mood for Love, is mostly inconsequential, though an understanding of the previous film might add an extra layer to sense of loss and forgetten memory that is almost palpable in this film. Tony Leung gives and excellent performance as Mr. Chow, the main character from In the Mood for Love, who after missing what might have been the opportunity for the love of his life in the previous film, has retreated into the boozing world pulp novelization and meaningless womanizing. The film has been criticized for its meandering and amorphous structure, yet to me its lack of structure which includes flashbacks, flashforwards, memories, and stories gives me the feeling of a sad memory and lost opportunities all done with painfully beautiful photography by three separate cinematographers including, Christopher Doyle. The most affecting passages of the film include his prologed relationship with a call girl played by the ethereal Zhang Ziyi. Her performance is subtle and absolutely magnificent. The first few scenes she has with Leung, she is a hard-to-get flirt who refuses to be with him, but notice the subtlety of her expression when she realizes that she is in love with him, and he tries to pay her for sex. She deserves an Oscar for that moment alone. Later there is a beautiful sequence that is the visualization of the story he is writing in which his alter-ego falls in love with a beautiful, emotionless android played to perfection by Faye Wong. There's an almost Blade Runner like quality in these scenes. I also have to mention the music which Michael Atkinson points out is almost like a movie unto itself. It adds a wonderful depth to the world. It is a sad film, but I'm a sucker for memories of lost love.