Product Description
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A Hong Kong writer finds inspiration from the women he's
encountered in his past in this futuristicstory of love and
memory from Wong Kar Wai, who continues the story he began in his
accled masterpiece In the Mood for Love. Remembering back to
the early 1960s, when he lived in the Oriental Hotel in Hong
Kong, Chow (Hero's Tony Leung) writes an erotic story that begins
with a mysterious woman who lived in room 2046. Chow moves into
room 2047 and begins an affair with a beautiful prostitute who
now rents the mysterious woman's room. As he writes his story,
which he sets in the future year 2046, Chow tells of a place
where people travel to recapture lost memories; he is the first
one to return. Nominated for the Golden Palm Award at the 2004
Cannes Film Festival, 2046 also stars Ziyi Zhang (Crouching
Tiger, Hidden Dragon), Gong Li (Memoirs of a Geisha) and Maggie
Cheung (Hero).
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In Wong Kar Wai's quasi-sequel to In the Mood for Love, 2046 is
a hotel room, a futuristic story, and a state of mind. Tony Leung
returns as Chow, but perhaps not the same Chow who appeared in
the first film. Starting three years later in 1966, we see Chow
on various Christmases as he lives, loves, and writes in a hotel
and nearby restaurants. Although he is less sensitive and more of
a ladies man now, Chow's love life always seems to exceed his
grasp. Whether the character is the same (the director calls this
an "echo" of the first movie) might be trivial. Hong Kong
filmmaker Wai is such a visualist (Time magazine tabbed him as
the "world's most romantic filmmaker"), the images wash over with
swirling smoke, neon lights, and the faces of his outstanding
cast, all lovingly photographed and smoothly scored. There's a
lot more going on than the visuals, and Wai's fans will certainly
find more and more details on repeated viewings. We travel into
Chow's futuristic story, where the acquaintances become fictional
characters traveling to a place where "everyone goes" to
recapture lost memories. Often Chow talks about never seeing a
lover ever again, but eventually bumps into her. The final result
is a film some will cherish; others will long for the more
traditional storyline of the first film. Wai certainly finds a
new direction for actress Ziyi Zhang (House of Flying Daggers) as
a prostitute who becomes one of Chow's many lovers. And Leung
continues to be one of the world's great film actors, with a face
and acting style the camera just loves. --Doug Thomas
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Set Contains:
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The director does not have a commentary track, but a 45-minute
making-of featurette does a good job of deconstructing the film,
including through interviews with cast and crew. Wai and Leung
take different approaches to who Chow is (it may all come down to
a mustache). The music, visual effects, and numerology are broken
down further in other features. Two extended deleted scenes are
shown, along with a coda that was not used (for good reason).
--Doug Thomas
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