Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!: 2046 (2004) - Kar-Wai's visually resplendent, empty hull of a movie

7/08/2013

2046 (2004) - Kar-Wai's visually resplendent, empty hull of a movie

♥♥

A kitschy, sensual, mysterious poster for Wong Kar-Wai's 2046

2046 is a sequel to Days of Being Wild/Ah Fei Zing Zyun (1991) and the wonderful In the Mood for Love/Faa Yeung Nin Wa (2000), by great returning Chinese writer/director Wong Kar-Wai (My Blueberry Nights (2007)). The plot of the film is very hard to relate, because it is thin as ice at best:

2046 is about the man from the former film (played by Tony Leung (Tokyo Raiders/Dong Jing Gong Lüe (2000))), who in late 1960s Hong Kong has a lot of ladies and struggles with the writing of a science fiction novel.

For large parts of the film, it seems that the idea of whispering one's secrets into a hole in a tree is the only major idea of this film, (and that really comes from its predecessor.) The many women surrounding our protagonist are unengaging, and the film as such is uninteresting, which is a subjective verdict but will still hold true for most people who see it. A completely mindless android subplot doesn't levitate 2046. It is pretentious rubbish, but aesthetically very playful and highly gifted in the strictly visual regard, which is what is still enjoyable about it.

Related posts:

Wong Kar-Wai: My Blueberry Nights (2007) - A slice too cute

2004 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
Chungking Express/重慶森林 (1994) - Kar-Wai's urban love drama is a visual treat

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 12 mil. $
Box office: 19.4 mil. $
= Big flop (returned 1.61 times the cost)
[2046 premiered 20 May (Cannes Film Festival, France, in competition) and runs 129 minutes. It took 4 years to complete. Shooting took place in Thailand and China, including Shanghai and Macau. The title has several meanings in the film. It was screened in a rushed and unfinished version in competition at the Cannes Film Festival. It opened #36 (in just 4 theaters) to a 113k $ opening weekend in North America, its 3rd biggest market, where it grossed 1.4 mil. $ (7.2 % of the total gross), topping at #34 and in 61 theaters (different weeks). Its biggest and 2nd biggest markets were Japan with 6.8 mil. $ (35.1 %) and France with 2.6 mil. $ (13.4 %). It was released in Hong Kong, (where it made 0.7 mil. $/3.6 %), but not in China. Roger Ebert gave the film a 2½/4 star review, translating to a notch higher than this one. The film was nominated for a David di Donatello award, won a European Film award, a National Board of Review award and many other honors. Kar-Wai returned with Eros (2004, segment), Capture Total (2005, short) and with a feature with My Blueberry Nights (2007). Leung returned in Seoul Raiders (2005). 2046 is certified fresh at 85 % with a 7.4/10 critical average on Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of 2046?

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William Friedkin has died

Born in Chicago, Friedkin accrued TV credits prior to his advance to the big screen as the director of Good TImes (1967), The Birthday Party (1968), The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968) and The Boys in the Band (1970) before his major breakthrough, The French Connection (1971), for which he won his only Oscar. He followed it up with the even bigger smash, The Exorcist (1973), arguably the best horror film of all time, for which he was Oscar-nominated. Later credits include Sorcerer (1977), Cruising (1980), To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), Rampage (1987), Rules of Engagement (2000), Killer Joe (2011) and The Devil and Father Amorth (2017, documentary). Friedkin passed away at age 87. R.I.P.

Louise Fletcher has passed away

Born in Alabama to deaf parents, Fletcher got her first credits in late-1950s TV-series.She took a 10 year-long sabbatical to devote her time to motherhood after the release of A Gathering of Eagles, but then came back and soon saw her career's most important part, as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), for which she won her sole Oscar. Later credits include Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), The Lucky Star (1980), Brainstorm (1983), Two Moon Junction (1988), Cruel Intentions (1999), A Perfect Man (2013) and many more. Fletcher passed away at age 88. R.I.P.

Jean-Luc Godard has passed away

Born in Paris, France, Godard lived much of his life in Switzerland. He wrote for French film criticism magazine Cahiers du Cinema and became foundational for the New French Wave that inspired new waves in scores of other countries across the world with his Breathless (1960). Later credits include A Woman Is A Woman (1961), Vivre Sa Vie (1962), Le Petit Soldat (1962), Contempt (1963), Alphaville (1965), Pierrot le Fou (1965), 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her (1967), Weekend (1967), Every Man for Himself (1980), King Lear (1987), Century of Cinema (1995, documentary), Goodbye to Language (2014) and many more. Godard died of assisted suicide at age 91. R.I.P.

Wolfgang Petersen has died

James Caan has died

Caan was born the son of Jewish immigrants from Germany in New York. He got his start on TV in the early 1960s. His credits include El Dorado (1966), The Rain People (1969), Brian's Song (1971, TV movie), The Godfather (1972), - for which he earned his only Oscar nomination, - Slither (1973), The Gambler (1974), Funny Lady (1975), Rollerball (1975), Silent Movie (1976), Hide in Plain Sight (1980), - the only film he also directed, - Thief (1981), Misery (1990), Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), Bottle Rocket (1996), Eraser (1996), Dogville (2003), Elf (2003), Las Vegas (2003-07), Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) and many more. Caan passed away at age 82. R.I.P.

Jean-Louis Trintignant has died

Born in Vaucluse, France, Trintignant's theatrical debut as an actor was in If All the Guys in the World... (1955). Later credits include ...And God Created Woman (1956), The Seven Deadly Sins (1961), Inferno (1964), A Man and A Woman (1966), My Love, My Love (1967), A Man to Kill (1967), The Great Silence (1968), Z (1969), The Assassination (1972), Three Colors: Red (1994), Amour (2012), Happy End (2017) and many more. He also wrote and directed two films in the 1970s. Trintignant passed away at age 91. R.I.P.

Ray Liotta has died

Adopted from an orphenage at a young age, Liotta got hooked on acting in high school. He had various TV credits in the late 1970s and early 80s, with his film debut in The Lonely Lady (1983). Later credits include Something Wild (1986), Field of Dreams (1989), Goodfellas (1990), Cop Land (1997), Hannibal (2001), Blow (2001), Narc (2002), John Q (2002), Identity (2003), Observe and Report (2009), Youth in Revolt (2009), The Details (2011), Killing THem Softly (2012), The Place Beyond the Pines (2012), Shades of Blue (2016-18), The Simpsons (2018, TV-series), Marriage Story (2019), The Many Saints of Newark (2021), Black Bird (2022, TV-series) and many more. Liotta passed away at age 67 in his sleep while on production in the Dominican Republic. R.I.P.

Philip Baker Hall has died

Born in Ohio, Hall didn't start acting until he was 30. His long list of credits include Zabriskie Point (1970), Miami Vice (1987, TV-series), Midnight Run (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Cheers (1993, TV-series), Hard Eight (1996), The Rock (1996), Air Force One (1997), Boogie Nights (1997), Seinfeld (1991-98), Rush Hour (1998), The Insider (1999), Magnolia (1999), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Bruce Almighty (2003), Dogville (2003), The Zodiac (2005), Zodiac (2007), Curb Your Enthusiasm (2004-09), Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011), Modern Family (2011-12) and many more. Hall passed away at age 90. R.I.P.

William Hurt has passed away

Born in Washington D.C., Hurt's first film role was the lead in Altered States (1980). Later credits include Body Heat (1981), The Big Chill (1983), Gorky Park (1983), Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985), for which he earned his only Oscar as Best Actor; Chilrdren of a Lesser God (1986), for which he was also Oscar-nominated; Broadcast News (1987), for which he was again Oscar-nominated; Smoke (1995), A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), A History of Violence (2005), for which he was again Oscar-nominated; The Good Shepherd (2006), Into the Wild (2007), Robin Hood (2010) and many more. Hurt passed away at age 71. R.I.P.

Ivan Reitman has passed away

Born in Chechoslovakia, now Slovakia, Reitman's family fled the Soviet regime to Austria, then Toronto, when he was 4 years old. Reitman broke into movies as a director with Foxy Lady (1971). Later credits include Cannibal Girls (1973), Meatballs (1979), Stripes (1981), Ghostbusters (1984), Twins (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Kindergarten Cop (1990), Junior (1994), Father's Day (1997), Evolution (1998), No Strings Attached (2011), Draft Day (2014) and more. Reitman's son Jason Reitman is also a great filmmaker. Reitman passed away at age 75. R.I.P.

Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!

Eagerly anticipating this week ... (6-24)

7/08/2013

2046 (2004) - Kar-Wai's visually resplendent, empty hull of a movie

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