"In the Mood for Love" showcased a hopeless love story, that which is lost even before its inception. "2046" portrays the hopeless attempts to overcome the repression of emotions by the repression of identity. Chow's idealized love for Su, which he lost, lead him into a state in which he can't stay true to his emotions. So he moves on without looking back only to look back at those who reminds him of his lost love, which ultimately leads to the realization that he needs to let go of the past. Chow's thoughts are further explored in the sci-fi world of his novel "2046". As each of the characters in his life is portrayed as a character in the novel, his real emotions towards them are exposed, as the writing progresses, even to him.Yearning for love is a basic human emotion that has always been a consistent theme in Wong films. Even when doing action/biography films like "The Grandmaster", the film ends up more or less about love. "2046" portrays the chaos of lost souls who are looking for love from all the wrong places and their suffering when they can't let go of the love they found or get hold of. Like every Wong film, "2046" is also at its best when the visual and musical motifs lead the viewers to feel what the characters are going through.Read full review at www.asianfilmvault.com/2017/07/2046-2004-by- wong-kar-wai.html

I was unawares that this film was a trilogy - and so this review is based on my initial viewing not having seen the first 2 films (although some googling gave me a basic understanding of what happened in the first 2 films). This is a story more so about the past than the future. A writer, Mr. Chow, caught up in the throws of a previous failed love affair, tries to recapture the past but is unsuccessful each time in each new woman that he meets.His new love interests all have some element of romantic tragedy about them - his writing assistant, who is deeply in love with someone who her father will never approve of, a call girl who has a desperate unrequited love for Chow, a gambler with a mysterious past, very much like Chow... all of them will never replace the one he lost so many years ago.From the get go, potential viewers should know that this is a deeply depressing film. By the end, viewers will leave with a feeling of emptiness and feeling that "This can't be the end." Much like Gone with the Wind (although, I won't say that this is equal to or greater than that classic), this film is about love at the wrong times and places. I suppose the strongest message that I can get out of the film is that everything changes - there is no way to recapture the past, and if one tries to do so, it will never go the way that one plans. Although confusing at times, and often drifting in and out of time sequences, the film is beautifully directed, artistically stunning and definitely something that will keep you watching until the very end. Tragically beautiful.

I know I'm going against the flow but I hated this film. I love Asian cinema, I love gently-paced subtle films, and I love sensuality. I particularly love those things in combination. But I hated this film.It's not as clever as it thinks it is. I like clever films. But I am irritated by people trying to be clever and failing. The themes hinted at in this film are vague and fantastic. It has a stylistic appearance of being philosophical when actually there is no philosophy behind it, either thought through or felt through. The director shows nowhere near the level of intellectual strength or depth necessary to achieve what the style of the film claims to achieve. It is made in an apparently evocative style but evokes nothing in me but contempt.Even more irritating is the basic subject matter of the film, which is essentially self-indulgent pretty people whingeing about the side-effects of their over-complicated love lives. Oh, the hardship of having to sleep with yet another gorgeous, sensual young woman after a night of unrestrained drinking and gluttony. I hated this film for much the same reason I have little time for Evelyn Waugh. I have no sympathy at all and I'm not interested. I can see why 2046 would appeal to shallow, self-indulgent, complacent pseudo-intellectuals by gratifying their own precious self-obsession. I'm not one of them.

A brilliant movie!If The Hours has 3 story lines at 3 different time lines intertwined, 2046 is a collection of bit of stories, real and imagined ones, at different time period. All of theme comes together as a philosophic story about love.The story followed Chow Mo-wan in In The Mood For Love after he left Hong Kong for Singapore. If In The Mood For Love was about a secret platonic love, 2046 paints a picture of sorrowful reminiscence. The majority of the movie was taken place in side the old small room, with studio light, yellow and black tin, giving the audience a feeling of suffocation and confine..Kar Wai Wong masterfully exploited metaphors and repeative details to portray the character. The story of Wang Jing Wen and her Japanese boyfriend is a reflection of the story of Chow Mo-wan and his lover Su Li-Zhen in In The Mood For Love. The last words of Chow to Black Spider – "The day you leave your past behind, go find me" – was he talking to her, or to himself? Could he ever escape his own past?The movie features wonderful monologues. It has a beauty of Chinese literature, little words, lots of meaning."All memories are traces of tears…"For more reviews, please visit: http://voicemotion.wordpress.com