2046

I’ve already seen this movie like two or three times, over a year ago if I’m not mistaken. I watched it for the first time on my flight to Guangzhou last December. Of course, big shocker, I love this. I’m a sucker for Wong Kar-wai, and 2046 might honestly be one of his best. It’s kind of a spiritual sequel to In the Mood for Love, and I did like that one a lot, but 2046 just hits closer for me. I don’t have a wife like Chow Mo-wan did, but that sense of emotional distance, the longing, the quiet kind of sadness, it all just sits right. Everything in this movie is beautiful. The women, the clothes, the lighting, the atmosphere. The tension between the characters feels so fragile, like it could fall apart at any second. And those sci-fi parts with the robot girl, I love how they connect to his real life. He’s using fantasy to process what he can’t say out loud. It’s romantic, nostalgic, lonely, and dreamlike all at once. 2046 is love, memory, certain people never really leave you even when they do.