2046

I caught Wong Kar Wei's new film, 2046, today at the Warner Village theater in Hsinchu, Taiwan, with my father. The film just opened in Asia this weekend, and is not due to hit theaters in the U.S. until next year. These days, directors from Sophia Coppola to Scorcese have acknowledged his influence in their work.

The film is flawed but still very much vintage Wong Kar Wei, from the gorgeous "every shot as a painting" Chris Doyle cinematography, the poignant voice overs, the plot in service of mood. The first 3rd of the film felt overly fragmented and at times, I thought my favorite director was losing his edge. The film then began to coelesce, cohere into a singular mood piece, somekind of paean to impossible and fleeting love. The sci-fi parts didn't work for me but the 1960's Hong Kong parts, largely a continuation of "In the Mood For Love", were affecting and often, I felt like I was watching someone else's dream. The film stars many of Chinese cinema's current lumineries including Tony Leung Cheu Wai, Gong Li, Zhang Zhiyi, and Faye Wong (who got her screen debut in Wong's Chungking Express).

The film was a salve for my travel weary heart, grown melancholy of late with the passage of people and places.