2046 - Wong Kar-Wai

i guess there are a lot of zhang ziyi fans out there ...have you guys seen the high-quality trailer for 2046 on the official french site? oh my, the film looks amazing, i can't wait to see it!:

2046 French Trailer

Hmm, looks interesting. Sort of reminds me of Sky Captain. Is it a love story?

I have to warn everyone, the director SUCKS big time.
Extremely artistic and zzzzz.
I think most chinese peeps knows this =)
WOng Kar Wai films = zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Cake is right. The director tries too hard at times to be 'artsy'. He thinks very highly of himself.

I read in the paper that he didn't even have a formal script for this movie and just winged it while shooting. Many of the actors/actresses couldn't even give a straight answer when asked what the plot of the movie is. Which is probably why not a lot of info has been released about this movie since nobody really knows.

All I know is this movie is supposed to be about the future and some guy falls in love with a robot. By the way, for those of you who don't know French or Cantonese while watching the trailer, Faye Wong is a robot. How tacky is that....

My advice is don't get too excited about this movie. Direct your energy towards Kung Fu (Hustle) instead.

Wong Kar Wai is a love him or hate him director. It's unfair to say he sucks or he's boring just because you don't like artsy/stylish movies. He's good at what he does (like Jerry Bruckheimer doesn't produce Oscar worthy stuff but he's good at what he does: producing big box office hits). This film isn't really one to watch for Zhang Ziyi (I don't think she figures prominently in it) but rather the director's style (or if you're looking for actors/actresses, it should be for Tony, Maggie and maybe Faye).

The only WKW film I've seen is Chungking Express and I liked it so I'm not automatically going to dismiss this one. Whether I see it or not is a different question but at least there's a chance

from the nytimes magazine article:

...just as the artistic innovations of Scorsese, and before him Godard and Fellini, were systematically plundered by other makers of films, TV commercials and music videos, Wong's signature moves have rapidly been assimilated over the past decade. Even if you have never seen a Wong Kar-wai film, you would recognize his style. For attentive fans, going to the movies has become a game of ''spot the Wong Kar-wai tribute'' (or rip-off), with a diverse list of directors explicitly recreating shots, scenes or musical cues from his work, including Spike Jonze in ''Adaptation,'' Cameron Crowe in ''Vanilla Sky'' and Jean-Pierre Jeunet in ''Amelie.'' Scorsese himself modeled the battle scenes in ''Gangs of New York'' after those in Wong's hallucinatory ''Ashes of Time,'' and even Sam Raimi in ''Spider-Man 2'' sends Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst for a quick stroll through a Chinatown that manages to look more like Wong Kar-wai's Hong Kong than New York.

ok, if you're the type that only likes to watch "action" movies like kung-fu hustle, rush hour, spiderman, or lord of the rings etc..., then yes, you won't like this film and probably should not see it because you will most likely complain about it being so boring, and confusing ...blah, blah, blah.

on the other hand, if you love beautiful, stylish cinematography, and don't mind being "challenged" while watching a film, then you should give it a chance because you might like what you see. yes, it is true that wkw works without a script, and most of the actors and crew won't know what the movie is about till the movie premiere. but that's his writing/directing style. and that's what makes his films so unique. the plot and narrative isn't straight forward ...but who says every film has to have a straight forward plot and narrative? what about memento? or mulholland dr.? i should stop, you guys probably think those movies are boring and confusing as well.

Originally Posted by Hanniganite

This film isn't really one to watch for Zhang Ziyi (I don't think she figures prominently in it) but rather the director's style (or if you're looking for actors/actresses, it should be for Tony, Maggie and maybe Faye).

...actually, i heard that maggie only appears for several seconds, but ziyi is definitely featured more prominently in the film out of all the female actresses (gong li, faye wong etc...).

anyway, i agree with everything else you said. chungking express is definitely wkw's most accessible film, so perhaps those who are curious about his work should see that first. i also recommend, fallen angels, which is sort of the sequel or companion piece to chungking express. it was supposed to be the third part of chungking, but they made it into it's own movie. in the mood for love, is sublime, imo. it's sort of the companion piece to 2046 (and perhaps even eros). i also loved happy together and days of being wild. i have yet to see ashes of time though.

Originally Posted by sankou

...actually, i heard that maggie only appears for several seconds, but ziyi is definitely featured more prominently in the film out of all the female actresses (gong li, faye wong etc...).

anyway, i agree with everything else you said. chungking express is definitely wkw's most accessible film, so perhaps those who are curious about his work should see that first. i also recommend, fallen angels, which is sort of the sequel or companion piece to chungking express. it was supposed to be the third part of chungking, but they made it into it's own movie. in the mood for love, is sublime, imo. it's sort of the companion piece to 2046 (and perhaps even eros). i also loved happy together and days of being wild. i have yet to see ashes of time though.

I stand corrected (I was just assuming in regards to the actors/actresses )

i actually didn't like Wong Kar-Wai's movies in the past. I remember watching "Days of Being Wild" when i was only 11 year old and i immediately fell asleep cuz i felt it was so boring.

but then, i re-watched it recently and my opinion on the movie changed instantly. Appreciating Wong Kar-Wai's movies requires maturity.

btw, i heard "2046" is doing so-so on the box office. i think it's at like #5 in hong kong.

Originally Posted by Cake

I have to warn everyone, the director SUCKS big time.
Extremely artistic and zzzzz.
I think most chinese peeps knows this =)
WOng Kar Wai films = zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

what r u talking about
wong kar-wai belong to a rare breed of chinese film makers who know what film should be (ny times called him a director's director last week)
i have lovingly collected and watched his movies...and i am not even a chinese

Originally Posted by sankou

i have yet to see ashes of time though.

you should be able to get the dvd for around 5 bucks in chinatown

Originally Posted by Tskitishvili

Cake is right. The director tries too hard at times to be 'artsy'. He thinks very highly of himself.

i would think wkw has more reason to think highly himself (though i am not sure there is any evidence to that effect) than john woo's of the world....

it's like comparing ferrari to a ford mustang

Originally Posted by tinlunlau

btw, i heard "2046" is doing so-so on the box office. i think it's at like #5 in hong kong.

that doesn't surprise me. don't the mainstream chinese audiences feel the same way about wkw films as cake and tskitishvili?

i read that the new jackie chan movie opened the same weekend. and jackie declared that his movie would beat 2046. he's also openly criticized wkw in past interviews saying how boring and confusing his films are. it's ironic that in american talk show interviews, jackie keeps saying that he wants to do more dramatic roles, and not always be known as the guy that can do his own stunts in action films ...well, dissing one of the most highly regarded directors in asian cinema (world cinema for that matter) isn't going to help his case.

Originally Posted by sankou

that doesn't surprise me. don't the mainstream chinese audiences feel the same way about wkw films as cake and tskitishvili?

i read that the new jackie chan movie opened the same weekend. and jackie declared that his movie would beat 2046. he's also openly criticized wkw in past interviews saying how boring and confusing his films are. it's ironic that in american talk show interviews, jackie keeps saying that he wants to do more dramatic roles, and not always be known as the guy that can do his own stunts in action films ...well, dissing one of the most highly regarded directors in asian cinema (world cinema for that matter) isn't going to help his case.

Well, I agree with Jackie Chan, i would watch ANY of his movies than WKW's.

I don't think WKW is a highly regarded director. Almost every chinese i've talked with says WKW's movies are crap (zzzzz). He's constantly made fun of.

IMO, i personally think that a great director should be able to capture the audience's attention and present a film in a way where they come out of the theatres and say "WOW, that was great", NOT, "WOW, that was deep and boring".

WKW fails to see that not everyone is an artist.

Originally Posted by Cake

I don't think WKW is a highly regarded director. Almost every chinese i've talked with says WKW's movies are crap (zzzzz). He's constantly made fun of.

Yes, because HK films that most Chinese people watch are of the highest caliber...
Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against cheesy HK, super-low budget films but just because some people don't like/understand a certain director and his works doesn't mean he's bad. Maybe bad in a box-office kind of way, but people study WongKarWai's works, and I don't see them studying Johnnie To, etc