TrueJoshNight Truly Dreadful Film

MonsterPerfect Good idea lost in the noise

MamaGravity good back-story, and good acting

SeeQuant Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

moviescriticnet Despite the fact that it has been nominated for Palme d' Or in Cannes Film Festival and won six local awards in Hong Kong Film Awards this overrated movie (a drama/romance and sci-fi mixture) is aesthetically perfect but completely meaningless. Kar Wai Wong, best knows for "In the Mood for Love" made this experimental two-hour movie of an original 5-hour (or so) material (thank god he didn't use all of it). The title of the film refers to the last year before the 50-year period the Chinese Government promised to let Hong Kong remain as it is (Hong Kong was returned to China in 1997). Of course this has little or nothing to do with the film (whose general idea is people searching love and their identity in a futuristic Hong Kong) which is nonsensical, completely delusional and will have you wonder whether you accidentally smoked some giant pot. Nevertheless the cinematography of the futuristic Hong Kong is so artistic and beautiful that it's worth watching just (and only) for that.Grade: C-

hoxjennifer I was unawares that this film was a trilogy - and so this review is based on my initial viewing not having seen the first 2 films (although some googling gave me a basic understanding of what happened in the first 2 films). This is a story more so about the past than the future. A writer, Mr. Chow, caught up in the throws of a previous failed love affair, tries to recapture the past but is unsuccessful each time in each new woman that he meets.His new love interests all have some element of romantic tragedy about them - his writing assistant, who is deeply in love with someone who her father will never approve of, a call girl who has a desperate unrequited love for Chow, a gambler with a mysterious past, very much like Chow... all of them will never replace the one he lost so many years ago.From the get go, potential viewers should know that this is a deeply depressing film. By the end, viewers will leave with a feeling of emptiness and feeling that "This can't be the end." Much like Gone with the Wind (although, I won't say that this is equal to or greater than that classic), this film is about love at the wrong times and places. I suppose the strongest message that I can get out of the film is that everything changes - there is no way to recapture the past, and if one tries to do so, it will never go the way that one plans. Although confusing at times, and often drifting in and out of time sequences, the film is beautifully directed, artistically stunning and definitely something that will keep you watching until the very end. Tragically beautiful.

Imdbidia A marvelous movie by Hong Kong director Kar Wai Wong, with an original script, innovative film narrative, wonderful characters and a super-stylish visuals. The movie depicts with realism, nostalgia and lyricism the difficulties and constrictions of the human heart, to love and being loved.It is a nostalgic view to the bygone loves of Tony Leung's, a part-time journalist and writer of romance novels, who lives in room 2047 in a hotel in Hong Kong. 2046 is the room where some of the stories happen, and also the title of Tony's sci-fi novel. The movie is the continuation of In the Mood for Love, and some references are directly related to the story in that movie.1/ The visuals The first thing that will catch your eye are the rich deep colors of the movie, especially the gorgeous reds and greens, but also the beautiful interior cinematography, the dresses, the make-up and hairdos, the colorful retro atmosphere and vintage texture of the film, the super-classy style of the film, in which even the smallest detail is taken care of.2/ The story Two main themes are explored in the film, love and literature. The movie tells several love stories, but they are not corny, as this movie is a reflection on real love - about how the past conditions our present relationships, about how love obsession can self-sabotage your emotional life, about those people who love us but we cannot love, and about the the importance of timing in love. Secondly, the movie depicts the process of literary creation, how our life and experiences affect our writing consciously or not, and how they are intricately mixed together.Tony's character is terrific so realistic and sophisticated at the same time, without all his human flaws well visible to the viewer. The women characters are quintessentially female but clever and powerful, but also drop dead gorgeous.3/ The narrative The narrative is circular but not straightforward as the different love stories are not chronologically told. The movie starts with one important story that happened in the past, and ends with the same story, as this story is the one that affected Tony's heart the most. Moreover, this circular and hopping movement is affected by the insertion of pieces of the present, in which Tony writes his novel 2046 and reflects about his past.The narrative breaks the love stories in different pieces, placing them according to the heart, not according to the time in which they occurred. This honors Tony' emotional memory, although emotional memories are never linear, and they are also affected by our present. Moreover, the way the story is told is intensely evocative and full of nostalgia, and really engaging from a mental point of view. I think that a linear script would have ruined the movie and had a soapy effect on the movie.4/ The acting Tony Leung Chiu Wai (as Tony Leung), Ziyi Zhang (as Bai Ling), and Faye Wong (as Wang Jing-wen and the android) are terrific in their performances, completely in tune with the needs of their characters. This is specially so in the case of y Ziyi Zhang, who looks ravishing beautiful but offers an unforgettable depiction of an emotionally multifaceted woman. One wonders why such a fine talented actress is doing crappy movies in Hollywood while she can really perform.Kar Wai Wong is a rare example of true artist, and this movie is a perfect example of that. I think the movie can be tricky for lazy watchers.

dwpollar 1st watched 2/20/2010 -- 7 out of 10(Dir-Wong Kar Wai): Painful yet beautiful film about lost loves and how those affected the main character played by Tony Leung. This is a strange, stylistic film about a writer and his experiences with various women in his life. He then uses those experiences to write a story set in the year 2046(which also happens to be the hotel room number where many of those experiences took place). The heroine in the story goes to this year to bring back lost memories because supposedly the memories will never be lost there. The movie bounces back and forth between the real story and the written story so it's really hard to follow and is hard to understand unless you watch the whole movie. The core is about how the main character lost a love who decided not to go with him to Singapore. He then becomes very loose and beds many women. He has a sexual relationship with a woman in room 2046 and then has a very fatherly relationship with the next inhabitant of that room. The written story ends on a sad note as does the real life situation. The character can only relate to loss. The filmmaker, Wong Kar Wai, uses a lot of visual styles to tell the story and includes music that makes it feel like a sad opera. This is one of those movies that will be hard to revisit but is a one-of-a-kind film and shouldn't be missed. If you've ever lost a love in your life -- this film will bring it to the surface and I think that is what the filmmaker intended. Well done throughout, but don't watch it alone because you won't want to be after it's over.