2046 (2004)

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Picking up where "In the Mood for Love" left off, 2046 is a visually seductive reverie of memory and regret, refracted through a serial womanizer's experiences with six women. (Sony Pictures Classics)

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Directed By: Kar-Wai Wong

Written By: Kar-Wai Wong

Starring: Maggie Cheung, Tony Chiu-Wai Leung, Carina Lau, Chen Chang, Gong Li, Ziyi Zhang, Takuya Kimura, Faye Wong, Jie Dong, Wang Sum, Thongchai McIntyre

Genres: Romance, Drama, Sci-fi

Franchise: In the Mood for Love

Country: China, France, Germany, Hong Kong

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2046 belongs to 70 collections

1. Favorite Film of Every Criticker Member (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 95 stars)

2. 21st Century Top 250 (collaborative: moderated by dardan - 49 stars)

3. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2014 revision) (collaborative: moderated by Jehan - 27 stars)

4. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2017 revision) (collaborative: moderated by iconogassed - 22 stars)

5. They Shoot Pictures' Recommended Viewing (collaborative: moderated by Cinephile - 19 stars)

6. Intellectual Sci-Fi (collaborative: moderated by BeeDub - 17 stars)

7. FIPRESCI Prize (collaborative: moderated by paulofilmo - 14 stars)

8. Doubling The Canon (collaborative - 13 stars)

9. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2020 revision) (public: djross - 13 stars)

10. TimeOut's 1000 films to change your life (collaborative: moderated by ppinocchio - 11 stars)

11. Christopher Doyle, Cinematographer (collaborative: moderated by paulofilmo - 10 stars)

12. Sex (collaborative: moderated by Dorkovsky - 8 stars)

13. Purposefully Slow Films (collaborative: moderated by rant1229 - 8 stars)

14. Anamorphic Cinematography (collaborative: moderated by Bojangles - 7 stars)

15. Skandies (collaborative: moderated by toro913 - 7 stars)

16. TSPDT 21st Century's Top 250 Most Acclaimed Films (2010) (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 6 stars)

17. List: Taschen (collaborative: moderated by KasperL - 6 stars)

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21. They Shoot Pictures: Top 100 Films of the 21st Century (collaborative: moderated by CCLZA - 5 stars)

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23. Doubling The Canon (2010 update) (collaborative: moderated by MMAlpha - 5 stars)

24. Aughties Films to See (public: theficionado - 3 stars)

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26. Criterion Collection (Blu-ray and 4K) (public: PepeCamello - 3 stars)

27. Cannes 2004 Official Selection (collaborative: moderated by djross - 2 stars)

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38. 100 Must-See Chinese-Language Films of the 21st Century (public: Nroo - 1 star)

39. Metacritic - Generally Favorable Reviews (collaborative: moderated by sengir)

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All Ratings | With Reviews

Order by:

TCI | Percentile | Date Rated | # Stars (Reviews)

Stars	User	Rating
11	Paxton	81 _89th
Me: That was so beautiful and touching. Wife: What was it about? Me: Yes.
4	MartinTeller	82 _73rd
I don't really like this as much as Chungking Express or Fallen Angels, but it's interesting. The cinematography is gorgeous, of course.
4	Alex Watkins	6 _98th
Wong pushes the emotional geography of his films (in which longing is expressed in the character of physical space) to its limit, creating a non-space that's strictly symbolic and completely out of time, as our protagonist journeys through his memories of lost loves (real and imagined). It's as much a journey through Wong's own films as well, with characters and visual allusions from previous work scattered throughout. For the uninitiated, it might be incoherent; as an acolyte, I adored it.
3	eveelun	82 _85th
While I think In the Mood for Love is a better film, I really enjoyed this one. It's just as gorgeous and graceful as its predecessor, with a very imaginative approach that makes up for its lack of focus and cohesiveness. The soundtrack is also very beautiful.
3	KasperL	80 _86th
More or less on par with 'In the Mood For Love'. Tony Leung, Gong Li and Zhang Ziyi act their butts off, but Wong Kar Wai and his cinematographer Christopher Doyle are the real stars. The "sci-fi segment" doesn't take up much of the running time, and arguably it should have been done away with altogether, because - a few stunning shots aside - most of it was really lame.
3	goremeat	83 _86th
Sumptuously sensual - the mood was truly beautiful. Very lyrical in it's slow meditation on how life refuses to work out as perfectly as a script. If only they could have handled some of the more gimmicky aspects with the same subtlety.
2	PeaceAnarchy	88 _90th
One of those films where the visuals are so beautiful and captivating that they're reason enough to watch. The story's told in an somewhat convoluted manner, but it's not too hard to follow and it's the film's emotional aspect that's most important anyway. Even when you're not sure where things are going you can always sense what the characters are feeling and a lot is said in simple looks and actions.
2	Potzblitz	95 _85th
What a beautiful film. Visual storytelling at its finest. Ziyi Zhang gives an amazing performance as Bai Ling, which I honestly didn't expect. If you're unsure about watching this film, watch it for her.
2	febraro	100 _99th
I'm apparently on the minority side, but I think 2046 is not only as good as In the Mood for Love, but a masterpiece by its own right. It has to be watched at the right place and the right time, but if you do so, you certainly won't regret it.
2	phaedrus	70 _78th
I'm giving this a high mark to try and seem clever and sensitive. It was eerie and beautiful and I'd watch it again.
2	cussot	81 _56th
I was lost most of the time (I was sure the guy at the desk said 1946, silly me), but it didn't really matter. Beautiful to wander through. Can I have a sad little liaison with him, too, please?
2	cclxndr	90 _88th
A visually stunning film with an enrapturing mood. It is a psychological test to the viewer, as each color scheme and shot is so well calculated, it forces out an emotional response before a word is even uttered. The viewer is seduced by the beautiful women that surrounds our protagonist, but we feel just as melancholy and empty as he by their graces.
2	Syntheseizur	86 _86th
The link between Wong's early career of slice-of-life romances and his more ambitious latter days. He traps many ideas about the romantic knots of nostalgia and creativity in the dense net of narrative ambiguities, but its cerebral tilt doesn't betray the emotive essence that drives the movie, even as it batters Wong's legacy. It may be one of the most complex romances of all time, pairing the abstract emotionality of The Double Life of Veronique with the volatile passions of Godard's Contempt.
2	glumpy_99	27 _2nd
Woefully indulgent, irritatingly obtuse drama (with awkward sci-fi elements) is perhaps better left to the Kar-Wai faithful: mix of obscure, convoluted relationship dramas with a monotonous overly explanatory voice-over makes for a singularly deadening experience. Leung's laborious performance, contrasting with the shrill performances from all the women in his life, point to the problem with Kar-Wai's style - there is constantly either too much or too little of everything.
2	jeporcher	80 _65th
Just as gorgeous as In The Mood For Love, although not as impacting. Unfortunately, I think the science fiction portion of the story shouldn't have been worked in.
2	eCitizen	70 _70th
What the lead has in charisma is wasted due to his arrogance, conceit, and stupidity. The principal themes are loss and regret. It is a good production with haunting music and beautiful female love interests. Faye Wong owned this movie and gave a memorable playful performance. Chow walking away from her was perplexing and his biggest regret. The editing was choppy at times and the story jumps around. Poor English subtitles. Some good atmosphere. Overall, it was engaging and worthwhile.
2	Yiannos	78 _89th
2046 proves undoubtedly that Wong Kar Wai is a fancy director of melodrama. It's arguably his most beautiful film--the color balancing is extraordinary and the cinematography surely ranks among the best of the 00's--and the complicated, time shifting narrative adds much needed depth to WKW's sensualist style which can be overly simplistic. It's also his finest work, a ravishing melancholy meditation on the relationship between time, love and memory that is rich in texture and mood.
1	fuxoft	30 _5th
Self-conscious, pretentious, empty
1	Magb	80 _61st
This is a tentative review. I have to revisit this one to fully make up my mind about it, but I think I'll watch In the Mood for Love first.
1	willofgaia	90 _72nd
A relatively worthy successor to "In The Mood For Love" but nowhere near as good. However, Wong Kar Wai still makes a film better than a good 90% of the movies released in 2005.
1	Actionberg	85 _84th
The romantic chemistry between the leads is as fiery as it gets, and all the while we're seeing it through perspectives that evoke feeling more than spatial understanding. Even though some of the CG is dated, especially when they're front and center, there's a sequence featuring one that really holds up thanks to it functionally remaining a flurry in the background while an android waits statically in front of it for 1000 years. Another arthouse gem from probably the best director in the world.
1	Ndkchk	95 _99th
The dialogue is beautiful, the characters are strongly drawn and sympathetic, and the mixture of the real and the written world come together perfectly.
1	Med	87 _69th
Wong Kar Wai can do no wrong, evocative, beautifully acted, and beautifully filmed.
1	Kavu	85 _85th
Naturally visually stunning, but the plot is surprisingly good too. A bit too disjointed for it's own good though.
1	Pickpocket	7 _68th
Could've easily been better but has some odd directing choices that leave you scratching your head (all the special effects, the 2046 story being integrated into the plot). Tony Leung is a great actor and it's nice to watch him go back and forth.
1	Nathan S	5 _93rd
The who, where, when, and why barely matter in any literal sense. The important thing is the perception that these images and encounters are relative to a shared universe established in Wong's previous films. The future is past, and memories are indistinguishable from fiction. This is his most abstract and impressionist work, so the primitive CGI - used sparingly anyway - actually seems somehow appropriate.
1	JooJoo	5 _80th
The future idea seemed like more of a reason for Doyle/Wong to go crazy with lighting and digital effects than anything that needed to be here, but it's a satisfying tale. Full of the doomed romances and heartache this guy specializes in. And it has one of my favorite Chinese actors, Li Gong! Always thought she'd fit into a Wong flick nicely.
1	amerigo	80 _68th
Having seen Fallen Angels before this, I was amazed by how Wong Kar Wai managed to go from the sleaziest ambience germinating some profound elegance to the exact opposite--a sort of rotting eloquence. However, it drags on at times and takes at least an hour to draw the viewer fully in. This seems to be among his weaker works.
1	td888	70 _76th
It feels like a weird Chinese mix between Quentin Tarantino and the Coen brothers.
1	Mohko	80 _83rd
Would have been better if the plot didn't jump around so much but it was still good.
1	LookingLand	30 _30th
a poor complement to its beautiful predecessor.
1	muutanet	79 _82nd
Reviewing. Stunning visuals, multiple storylines penetrating boldly on each other. I liked the non-linear storytelling and multiple (and similar) names on different characters, though it was a bit difficult to put everything in right order in the end. In the stories and in real life some characters represented different than they appeared to be (sometimes even mixing the sexes). The story is only marginally scifi.
1	Vesey	88 _86th
I've never been able to use bittersweet more accurately. Beautiful but cold atmosphere with a disconnected narrative that creates an intense sense of longing that just grows and grows and grows. Honestly it was the only emotional connection I had to film but it was strong enough that I want to re-watch it.
1	Quicky	73 _67th
More complicated to follow than In the Mood for Love, but with the same sensual, graceful cinematography and excellent use of music. The main character has become harder to identify with as compared with In the Mood for Love, so combining that with the sometimes confusing plot left me with many questions at the end, but nevertheless it was a pleasant experience again. Oh and, Ziyi Zhang is incredibly sexy.
1	paulofilmo	74 _90th
One of perhaps two films that have imparted a feeling of weightlessness. Your whole body slowly, slowly sinks.
1	purgatos	81 _74th
It's got a lot of style and a lot of interesting elements. Lovely cinematography backed by a great soundtrack. There are a lot of different sections, corresponding to different women and often it seems like there's no real method for switching between them. It's not awful for this, but can certainly be jarring.
1	tathiel	86 _88th
I liked it more than "In the mood for love". The story is more complex and at least for me was more watchable and understandable. But maybe I have to watch the other one again...
1	QVT	95 _96th
Fucking devastating. How do you make a sequel to the greatest film of all time? Well, you'd have to make it look as good (almost), you'd have to make it convincing (almost), and you'd have to make it either entirely outside of or inside of itself (inside) and you'd also have to have made the first one. Wong Kar Wai fucking rules.
1	WWallce4prez	84 _85th
While it doesn't live up to In the Mood For Love, 2046 is very good. Once again, Kar Wai Wong crafts a visually stunning film, and the disjointed narrative is a fascinating addition. The soundtrack was spectacular and the performances were top-notch. Unfortunately, I found too few characters that were even remotely likable, and the narrative did get away from itself from time to time.
1	empiremag	4 _71st
"A languid, shimmering mood piece from a master stylist, with some of Asia's finest actors at their peak."
1	Haha	84 _71st
Great film and ensemble hampered by an all over the place story. Still, film makes it up for it with the mastery of Wong Kar Wai's visuals.
1	ZayanK	82 _63rd
Not my favorite Wong Kar Wai, but a fine experience nonetheless.
1	Okkervil	78 _79th
Certainly a treat to look at, with a great musical score. It failed to connect with me to any great degree, which I think perhaps was largely due to the slightly messy editing and structure. For me it never quite manages to compete with its epic sibling "In the Mood for Love". Even so, all the performances were great and all-in-all it's a very enjoyable experience.
1	Gareforceone	93 _68th
Wong Kar Wai's 2046 is often referred to as the director's take on sci-fi, but this relentlessly moody tale of a pulp fiction writer who's books are inspired by his troubled life deals with none of the usual themes of science fiction and shouldn't be judged on it's merits as such. At heart, the film is a character sketch. Production is flawless, from sound to acting to the incredible cinematography, but the editing is obscure sometimes needlessly and the film requires a few viewings to absorb.
1	Tweedale	8 _79th
Beautiful
1	QuickyAPI	68 _57th
More complicated to follow than In the Mood for Love, but with the same sensual, graceful cinematography and excellent use of music. The main character has become harder to identify with as compared with In the Mood for Love, so combining that with the sometimes confusing plot left me with many questions at the end, but nevertheless it was a pleasant experience again. Oh and, Ziyi Zhang is incredibly sexy.
1	jeff_v	80 _91st
Vague, ephemeral, elusive. Secretive, melancholic, runic. It could only come from Wong Kar-Wei. So characteristic is the decor, the sartorial splendor, the frames within frames, the repetition. I've read comparisons with Resnais but it reminded more of Max Ophuls --a continuous cycle of asynchronous lovers.
1	Tjekhov	80 _86th
If I had to live the rest of my life in a film, I would probably chose one by Wong Kar Wai. In many aspects, the most profound visual beauty on film.
1	AndreasThau	80 _77th
Although not as perfect as 'In the mood for love', '2046' is still a proof of Wong Kar Wai's huge talent for nursuring one's senses. I am so in love with this way of creating a both griping, entertaining and most of all lyrically beautiful piece of art. It would serve a lot of ambitious directors good to try and understand Wong's use of music and aestethical coherence. Last, but not least, Tony Leung and Gong Li provide us with superb performances, caressing every expression and tone of voice.
1	Rufam	65 _42nd
"2046" appeals primarily to the senses, instead of the intellect. Wong offers a sublime visual and aural experience throughout, never matched by equally compelling storytelling. Although the futuristic elements are intriguing, at its core, the film remains a rather conventional and not too interesting collection of love stories. And yet, the absolutely brilliant visuals are often enough to conceal the meaninglessness of the plot and pack an emotional impact. Worth-watching, just for that.
1	stevekimes	89 _84th
Both touching and upsetting film about how one rebounds from losing the love of one's life. Not a science fiction film.
1	natebarrios	75 _74th
Pretty good love story spliced with absolutely wonderful images. You should really see Days of Being Wild and In the Mood for Love before seeing this, especially the latter, as this movie follows those. While it can be a little bit harder to get into the narrative, this is really one of Wong's most beautiful films (which is saying a lot).
1	ratedargh	90 _85th
"Love is all a matter of timing." As fascinating as the conceit of the protagonist's novel being a stand in for his method of dealing with his past regrets and potential lost love, it's most engaging when that subject matter is dealt with head on. To a certain point of view, Leung's character will be intensely relatable even when he's frustratingly aloof. It's tragic and beautiful at the same time. They are not strange bedfellows, though, as they often go hand in hand.
1	Barraoc	60 _38th
Beautifully filmed and wonderfully acted but this was diminished by the main character being a twat.
1	seydakesen	90 _79th
"love is all a matter of timing. it's no good meeting the right person too soon or too late."
1	ott	70 _57th
I changed my mind: It is from the funny end of WKW but I hate this asshole-sympathetic protagonist
1	toddsalter	89 _58th
I watched this first, not realizing it was a sequel. Am I the only person in the world that thinks this sequel was better than In The Mood For Love? Trying to rebound from the love of one's life seems far more emotional and devastating than a simple affair that doesn't happen. The sci-fi part was entertaining but seemed sort of random. Similar to In The Mood For Love, I just didn't get attached enough to the characters to rate this any higher. But still an improvement over the first movie.
1	rcjunk	20 _5th
Everything from the shot composition to the narrative structure to the character dialog and pacing is just dumb and indulgent. I dislike just about every aesthetic choice aside from the beautiful lighting and clearly mixed dialog.
1	nobamba	85 _92nd
Great sequel to one of my favorite films. Tony Leung's character had to move somewhere after ItMfL. A study of his flaws is more interesting. The additional sex doesn't make this better. The time jumps are manageable and I liked the distinct love stories, even the future one (I just find the landscape boring). Zhang Ziyi fills Maggie Cheung's shoes well but can't replace her, though I suppose that's the point. Fav scenes: kissing Black Spider; turning down Zhang in the end.

Average Percentile 63.34% from 2541 Ratings