Customer Reviews
2046 - Style without substance - By: apersonlikeanyother, 01 Aug 2008 
When I first began the film, I felt instantly attracted to its cinematography & intrigued by its non-standard storytelling. The film isn't long but its pace makes it feel unending & after 2 hours of struggling to keep my eyes open, I've come to the conclusion that the intriguing story was ultimately a disinteresting one. The style was still there but the substance just wasn't substantial enough to support the pace, which is a shame.
Beautiful, emotional, and chaotic - By: DangermouseZilla, 27 May 2008 
This film seems very disjointed & at first you're not too sure if you're watching a futuristic sci-fi feature, or love story. Although the latter is more on-the-mark, this feeling of disorientation is key to the way the film strings along many individual moments to build up a smalll web of characters.
This is the third film in a series & many of the themes carry through. I've not seen the previous films, (they aren't strictly 'prequels') so I can't say if they would have added anything to the experience. The number 2046 carries the weight of significance throughout the film; Chow Mo-Wan, a womanising pulp fiction writer uses his life experiences to author a series of adult books, & to create a semi biographical story set in the year 2046. 2046 is the room number he used to conduct an affair many years ago, & is the room number he finds himself & his former lover in after a chance meeting. When Chow finds himself in room 2047, this symbolises him moving on, but he still frequents room 2046.
Chow becomes involved with several ladies, but most intriguing is his relationship with Bai Ling, the beautiful escort girl with whom a mutual agreement is made for them to satisfy their lust for each other. It becomes clear that Bai harbours more than just physical attraction for him & the relationship turns stale as Chow seems to enjoy making her jealous. His feeling towards women seems cold & you sympathise for Bai.
Another prolific relationship begins with a daughter of his landlord. She is a budding writer & a fan of his 2046 serial. They work together & a sequel 2047 begins.
The film seems to implode at moments & a tangible 25 minutes or so of scenes which run fluidly becomes a confused amalgamation of what has been, & what is yet to come. The imagery is striking, lots of slow scenes where you start to think if the image is paused. Evocative & keeping you on your toes to concentrate are the main features of this film. The re-union between Chow & Bai is the the moment where we see if Chow reallly has, or can, move on from his past.
In a nutshell: The film looks beautiful, & through insights into the private lives of the characters, & their history - they have depth. These two things make the film watchable, even if it does sometimes feel like it drags. I'd love to give this 4 stars (in terms of atmosphere & artistic direction this is a 5 star film) but I'm opting for three as I feel as though there was something lacking from not watching the previous film "In the Mood for love". However, I did enjoy the film & look forward to returning to it in the future.
Boring, Boring, Boring - By: electrical-warehouse, 26 Apr 2008 
Like someone else here rightly said, it's alll style over substance. Unfortunately, some people here seem to have falllen for it. A reality check is needed & that is why I'm writing this review.
My view of a good movie is that it should evoke some kind of memorable emotion from the viewer, but the only emotion I got from this movie is sheer, unadulterated boredom. That's something I would rather forget.
The blame for this failure lies with the director. He does not seem to understand what true emotion is. He seems to think that carefully & strategicallly placing a tear on a woman's blank, expressionless face & then carefully filming it constitutes emotion. In my book, that is simply not good enough. I concede the director would make a fantastic photographer. By alll means let him take your wedding snaps but don't let him direct a movie unless you want to be bored out of your skull.
2046 - No 2 - All time list 2008 - By: L. Ecclestone, 31 Mar 2008 
2046 - I've given it a high accalaide - no 2 on an alll time list, you'd expect it to be something out of the ordinary - for me anyway, it is.
Wong Kar-Wai a favourite of mine now after watching many a film over the past few years. I remember the first time watching 2046 & not overly liking the "sci-fi" parts - now I love them. They some up the sense which this films brings. Longing, impossible wanting for something out of reach & the emotion that it brings...
You have to watch 'In The Mood for Love' before this film to fully understand this film, you have to fully understand the thoughts of Tony Leungs characters, or you could just get lost in what he seems to be doing to the female characters & by how much he has changed.
I try not to actuallly detail any films I review, as to me, if you know whats happening - it kind of ruins the film.
Beautifully shot - the lingering images of Gong Li etc, beautifully acted by some of the best & most attractive actors/actresses in the business & an utter masterpiece from Wong Kar-Wai.
Whilst I can understand some contempt for the movie - it is a little over-long & a bit hard to fathom the change of the lead character plus the aforementionned 'sci-fi' section alll I would say is give it chance, watch the movie for a second time & sit back for the most pleasant ride to (and without being too obvious) 2046.
A must see - please ignore the subtitle hate brigade who dismiss non-english films without them ever seeing their DVD players.
A film not to be missed - By: K. Chlouverakis, 08 Mar 2008 I had seen this movie twice & although I was fascinated by its imagery, atmosphere & visual effects I was somewhat perplexed & slightly confused by the plot.
I went back to the movie "in the mood for love", then I carefully read the plot of 2046 in the "Wikipedia" & played (actuallly "studied") the video on my computer viewing & reviewing the difficult parts until the whole movie made sense.
The reward was immense. It is a difficult, fragmented, somewhat chaotic film but it is a work of art, a real masterpiece. In fact I can claim it as the most beautiful film of the last ten or so years.
