2046

International art house darling Wong Kar Wai`s previous film, In The Mood For Love, was a devastatingly gorgeous musing of unrequited love, a cinematic masterpiece that flirted with perfection. That film`s male protagonist, a writer named Chow (Tony Leung), reappears in 2046, a "continuation" of his story, happening some time later during the mid-60`s. In this new chapter, Chow writes for a newspaper, including a science fiction story called 2046. Presumably bitter and utterly disillusioned with love, stemming from the heartbreak of Mood, he`s sprouted a mustache and has started living life as a womanizer. A beautiful and sassy girl, Ling (Zhang Ziyi), moves in next door to him and becomes an obsession to Chow. Here he goes again.

The film actually opens in the future, with one of Chow`s fictional characters narrating his sci-fi story in Japanese. The visuals accompanying this futuristic vision of Hong Kong is simply stunning and epic--think Blade Runner and Ghost In The Shell with a quadruple Las Vegas electricity bill for the exteriors, with elaborate and funky interior scenes. 2046 proceeds to alternate between past and future--mostly the past, leaving the viewer distracted in craving more scenes of the tantalizing future. As the film moves forward, the crushing emotional exchange between Chow and Ling seem diluted--instead of enhanced--by the eyefuls of lush cinematography (mostly thanks to frequent collaborator Christopher Doyle, one of three directors of photography employed by Wong for the film).

2046 often plays like a music video starring beautiful people. In fact, the film does feature two Asian pop stars as actors: Faye Wong (who also starred in Wong`s Chungking Express), and Thai crooner "Bird" Thongchai McIntyre. Additionally, Wong veterans Carina Lau and Chang Chen also star, along with other familiar faces Gong Li, Dong Jie, and Takuya Kimura. Maggie Cheung, who played the female lead in Mood, reprises her role in a brief scene. The Asian all-star cast, however, isn`t enough to rescue 2046 from crawling to its finish: its story drags more and more as the story progresses, but at least there`s always something pretty to look at. Sure, it`s visual poetry, with its aforementioned striking interpretations of the future, as well as its rustic and detailed look at the past. But, it could`ve stood to be poetry in story as well.