Tuesday, September 13, 2005
SOMEWHERE IN TIME
Saw Wong Kar-Wai's 2046 at the Music Box last night.
Hmmm, this one is going to be hard to write about. Okay, here we go:
Tony Leung plays Chow, a journalist and fiction writer living in Hong Kong in the late sixties. Chow appears to be the same character that Leung played in In The Mood for Love, but he's a bit different here. In the previous film, Chow was achingly tentative, never making a move on Maggie Cheung; here, his character is smooth and confident, having no problem bedding attractive women. Indeed, 2046's plot - if you want to call it that - consists of Chow recounting a series of doomed love affairs with women played by the most beautiful Chinese actresses of our time. These histoires des amours tristes are framed by one of Chow's stories called 2046, a place, or time, or state of being where memories can be recalled to perfection and without pain.
The longest and most interesting section of the film concerns Chow's affair with Bai Ling (Zhang Ziyi). She's a fiery-tempered call girl that moves into Room 2046 of Chow's building. Wong expertly chronicles their brief relationship, from the initial, hostile flirtation, to the passionate sex, to the sad conclusion, when it becomes clear that Chow doesn't love Bai Ling. It's one of the best depictions of an affair that I've ever seen in a film. Zhang Ziyi is simply terrific as Bai Ling. She's all swagger and spark on the surface, fragile and sad undeneath. I had previously dismissed Ms. Zhang as just a nice, pretty girl, a mistake I'll never make again.
The tables are turned in the next section of the film, however, as Chow falls in love with his landlord's daughter (Faye Wong), only to have his feelings spurned. Then there's a flashback to the time he spent in Singapaore before returning to Hong Kong and his relationship with the mysterious gambler known as the Black Spider (Gong Li).
But why am I going on about plot anyway? Wong Kar-Wai films aren't about plots. You go for moments, for moods. So here are my favorite moments: The look on Gong Li's face when she realizes that Chow will never love her, the look on Chow's face when he learns that the landlord's daughter has married, the parting between Chow and the Black Spider. Overall, the mood is of wistful regret. There's a sense that Chow laments his affairs even as they're happening, that he's remembering these women more than he's engaging with them. After all, how can anyone compare to the perfection of memory? ¶ 9:05 AM
Hmmm, this one is going to be hard to write about. Okay, here we go:
Tony Leung plays Chow, a journalist and fiction writer living in Hong Kong in the late sixties. Chow appears to be the same character that Leung played in In The Mood for Love, but he's a bit different here. In the previous film, Chow was achingly tentative, never making a move on Maggie Cheung; here, his character is smooth and confident, having no problem bedding attractive women. Indeed, 2046's plot - if you want to call it that - consists of Chow recounting a series of doomed love affairs with women played by the most beautiful Chinese actresses of our time. These histoires des amours tristes are framed by one of Chow's stories called 2046, a place, or time, or state of being where memories can be recalled to perfection and without pain.
The longest and most interesting section of the film concerns Chow's affair with Bai Ling (Zhang Ziyi). She's a fiery-tempered call girl that moves into Room 2046 of Chow's building. Wong expertly chronicles their brief relationship, from the initial, hostile flirtation, to the passionate sex, to the sad conclusion, when it becomes clear that Chow doesn't love Bai Ling. It's one of the best depictions of an affair that I've ever seen in a film. Zhang Ziyi is simply terrific as Bai Ling. She's all swagger and spark on the surface, fragile and sad undeneath. I had previously dismissed Ms. Zhang as just a nice, pretty girl, a mistake I'll never make again.
The tables are turned in the next section of the film, however, as Chow falls in love with his landlord's daughter (Faye Wong), only to have his feelings spurned. Then there's a flashback to the time he spent in Singapaore before returning to Hong Kong and his relationship with the mysterious gambler known as the Black Spider (Gong Li).
But why am I going on about plot anyway? Wong Kar-Wai films aren't about plots. You go for moments, for moods. So here are my favorite moments: The look on Gong Li's face when she realizes that Chow will never love her, the look on Chow's face when he learns that the landlord's daughter has married, the parting between Chow and the Black Spider. Overall, the mood is of wistful regret. There's a sense that Chow laments his affairs even as they're happening, that he's remembering these women more than he's engaging with them. After all, how can anyone compare to the perfection of memory? ¶ 9:05 AM
