Captivating imagery is unable to save '2046'
By Nick Norman
"2046" is a difficult film to watch, and even more challenging is trying to write about it.
Directed by Chinese filmmaker Kar Wai Wong, this slow moving tale shadows a lonely bachelor through several trysts in his search for love.
His story is interfused with sequences from the book he is writing, which takes place in the year 2046.
The film features a number of tricks that can be found in an MTV music video, spread out over two hours: lush colors, stylized sex, shadows dancing on walls, slow motion, fast motion, animation, black and white, sepia. The list goes on.
The futuristic portions of the film are standard impressions of a generic utopia. Purple hair, light-up platform shoes, bullet trains and grimy walls all make a hefty presence.
From the first frame, the narrative seems to drip down to the audience through a gelatinous slumber. The result is a rather soporific tale of misguided lovers.
You know those moments before you succumb to sleep, when dreams blend into reality? Just like those moments, "2046" depicts a believable story in a dreamlike way. This causes it to both soothe and inspire.
I even found myself drifting away into my own fantasies, losing track of the subtitles.
Just like the state of half-consciousness before sleep, the film exudes a deep visual richness.
In those moments of pure creativity, everything we see is interesting. In "2046," everything we see is beautiful.
But, the problem with making a movie like "2046" is that the viewer is at risk of actually falling asleep. Truthfully, I nodded off several times.
When I awoke, I had no sense of time, but I had no trouble picking up the plot.
A shorter art piece would have served better than the feature length format.
At one point, a lonely Christmas dinner (put to cheesy American holiday music) transliterates into a silently sterile exchange between android and human in an empty and glowing bar.
Both the repetitive structure, similar to a poem's stanzas, and the cyclical story increase the hypnotic effect of the film.
I felt terrible about falling asleep because I absolutely loved the film's beautiful visuals and music. Perhaps it was that I enjoyed them so much, that they completely relaxed me.
It was the parallels formed between the '60s narrative and that of the year 2046 engaged me the most.
Because the author is writing a book about his own experiences with lost love, he must translate his experiences into the futuristic setting of the work in progress.
I would love to love this film. It has everything I look for in a film: visceral beauty of visuals, non-traditional narrative structure, edgy camera work and extraordinary acting. But, I cannot ignore the fact that "2046" ended up putting me to sleep.
Grade: C
"2046" is in limited release nationwide. It is rated R for sexual content.