wong kar-wai's latest... WHEN?
the cannes reactions were very mixed, wong's probably recutting it brown bunny style.
How many times has recutting made a film better?
Quote from: RaviHow many times has recutting made a film better?
2
Quote from: ElPandaRoyalQuote from: RaviHow many times has recutting made a film better?
2
Annie Hall and Apocalypse Now, I presume?
Wong KarWai is hit and miss for me, but doesn't he shoot excessive amount of film? like the shooting ratio is like 1 to 40 or something, pretty close to documentaries, so the outcome can vary as much as an edited documentary.
wong kar-wai is simply great and you should all know that...
Thanks, I'll keep a note of that.
http://www.2046.jp/
there is no cinematographer more versatile than Christopher Doyle. I wish Connie Hall was still alive so I can say something like Chris Doyle kicks Connie Hall's ass without appearing blashemous.
In Cannes, Tarantino said: "If there was an award for photography, 2046 would have definately won it."
Quote from: petethere is no cinematographer more versatile than Christopher Doyle. I wish Connie Hall was still alive so I can say something like Chris Doyle kicks Connie Hall's ass without appearing blashemous.
OK, now, that was funny.
2046 can't come soon enough (it's one of the few times when that's actually a good thing).
Quote from: ElPandaRoyal
OK, now, that was funny.
whoa, somebody's knee just JERKED.
I'm in Taiwan right now, gonna see it tomorrow.
Quote from: peteI'm in Taiwan right now, gonna see it tomorrow.
Sneak an NTSC DV camcorder in there... you know, if it's not too much trouble.
I don't think there are any spoilers other than really vague references. but maybe you wanna remain completely pure then maybe skip what I've written.
I couldn't even sneak in a mango slushy in there. the lady made me eat it right there, and comforted me by saying that the preview is 15 minutes. I had such a headache after that. but Taiwanese mangoes are the best, I tells you.
the movie was really really good. it has a few references to in the mood for love (I didn't pick up right away but there was this nerd girl next to me who kept on whispering "that's from in the mood for love" to herself--she also told me to shut up when I laughed at the trailer of that movie with deniro and rebecca stamos). it had a lot of nabokov and woody allen in it actually--you know, the longing and the lust of a writer, who puts things into his fictional world. there was a lot of nudity-free sex (Zhang Ziyi always pulls that kinda shit where you keep on seeing her back) that were really intense but none too steamy. it really kept me in the main character's head and sealed me there, I haven't felt that way about a movie in a while.
the movie took quirks to a whole new level--that the quirks exhibited in the characters were almost characters and plots themselves. some gestures were really heartbreaking. this is by far the most detached and heartbreaking of all wong karwai movies. also most focused. it's relentless look at one man's love life, with either him or his voice dominating most of the screentime. tony leung really is the loneliest man in the world. boy he rocks.
it seemed like a different version from the one exhibited at cannes--all these things I read from earlier reviews and early cast and crew hype interviews were barely there--the sci-fi aspect of it. there was actually barely any sci fi, it was mostly about the three women Tony Leung encountered. some spectacular lines and heartbreaks though. it also seemed more precise than wong karwai's other films--that the footages filmmed might've even been <gasp!> scripted.
it also reminded me a lot of the short stories by a Taiwanese novelist Bai Xian-Yung, who kinda elevated stories about escorts and bargirls to the level exhibited in 2046 today. cinematography is a bit colder and more precise, not as spontaneous as happy together or chunking express, and not as lush as in the mood for love.
but man, there should be more CGI-assisted love stories like this and Eternal Sunshine.
Just came back from it. Very good, very beautiful.
I have to see it again when it comes out because i didn't understand it all. I'm too hungry and tired right now to write about it.
Oh yeah. This is the most beautiful movie of the year. And maybe of any year. Damn, I saw it two days ago and I still can't write anything readable about the movie. There are some shots that will make you stare and fall in love with the screen. Believe me, it looks that good. It has some scenes that are a lot like IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE, and the scenes about 2046 are some of the most poetic I can remember. And then there is this one shot near the end, with a woman/robot looking through the window of a train... :-D
Hmmm, I just came back from this at the London Film Festival. I may watch it a few more times and love it, but for now I was just bitterly bored for 2 straight hours (minus the 25 minutes I fell asleep in the middle of the movie). I dunno...
The National Film Theatre here just put on a WKW retrospective (minus Ashes Of Time). I have to say, Fallen Angels and In The Mood and CE are among my favs of all time, but his others just do nothing for me. 2046 had the references to Mood, and also to Days Of Being Wild (another movie I had trouble staying awake for). Ugh. I really wanted to love this, but I didn't even like the camerawork or the music or anything. Maybe I was just in the wrong frame of mind...
Well, I'm convinced that, when I see 2046, I'll love it, but I do have a nagging fear that it may not thrill me (I've only been bored by one of his movies -- I, too, had trouble with Days Of Being Wild, but I'm hoping seeing it on the big screen this fall will help me appreciate it more).
Some pictures
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To nobody's surprise, these look beautiful.
Oh my Christ.
I don't know if it's because of the pictures or GDITM's presence, or a combination of the two, but I just creamed my pants.
THRICE!
http://www.ocean-films.com/2046/videos2.htm
is the trailer, the subtitles are in french. enjoy!
It's so pretty. It's so very pretty. Basically, what pete said.
Quote from: petethere is no cinematographer more versatile than Christopher Doyle. I wish Connie Hall was still alive so I can say something like Chris Doyle kicks Connie Hall's ass without appearing blashemous.
I wish I knew how he did all of this. And hopefully the substance will match the style. Still no word on a US release? IMDb doesn't say anything.
Quote from: wantautopia?Still no word on a US release? IMDb doesn't say anything.
According to Coming Soon!:
2046 Release Date: TBA 2005
Quote from: MacGuffin
2046 Release Date: TBA 2005
Whooooo weeeee...I love it when they say TBA, it gets me really excited inside...No, but seriously, this film sounds fantastic.
you can buy the hong kong release on ebay
http://search.ebay.com/2046-wong-kar-wai_W0QQsokeywordredirectZ1QQfromZR8
some more:
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My eyes just had an orgasm.
Quote from: rudieobyou can buy the hong kong release on ebay
http://search.ebay.com/2046-wong-kar-wai_W0QQsokeywordredirectZ1QQfromZR8
FROM IMDB:
mtr_320 (Mon Oct 18 2004 03:17:08 ) Ignore this User | Report Abuse
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Unless you dont mind a slogan of the dvd distributor keep appearing every five minutes or so across the picture, do not import the dvd that is available on ebay! I have never come across a dvd like this before, it says on ebay that it is the "official release" but i wonder now. Also the film is not anamorphic which is also pretty poor for a brand new release of such a big movie. Just warning you
I was in Chinatown two days ago and saw a bunch of DVDs already released, amongst them House of Flying Daggers, but no 2046.
so as i am in China mainland(chinese that I am),I saw 2046 a month ago,it confirmed my idea that Wang wasn't shooting films for the audiances everytime but for himself.often, we saw one single feeling(may be very peronal to him)floating into a longplaying film.He used to do good,i especially like Happy Together.but 2046, to me just a emotional continuation of In The Mood For Love,wasn't that satisfying.
I think if Wong KarWai wasn't making it for himself then it woulda been like 4 hours long.
Quote from: rudieobhttp://www.ocean-films.com/2046/videos2.htm
is the trailer, the subtitles are in french. enjoy!
Trailer with English subtitles:
http://www.substance001.net/2046_trailer/2046_trailer_330k.mov
Anyone who hasn't seen this yet, PLEASE wait till you get a chance to see it projected on a screen instead of opting to watch the bootleg DVD from Vietnam or wherever the fuck my friend's dad bought it for. The inability to be patient comes with consequences. I know Hedwig posted a(n indirect) warning about the DVD already but, well, my friend had it so there you go...
2046 starts off with such raw poetry and kinetic energy that I thought I was going to die. It sets everything up beautifully, but I felt that from that point on it begins and continues to come undone for the rest of its running time. That doesn't go to say that this film isn't any good; I still liked it a little less than what would normally be a loved-it-status movie. Wong Kar Wai's improvisational style of filmmaking is at its best and worst here -- what works works amazingly well, what doesn't fails just out of reach of being overlookable. It meanders a bit and has a countless number of digressions, some of which feel superfluous, even distracting. WKW seemed more concerned with moments than the film as a whole, but that's what the film is about so I guess it works... I would've preferred it to be a little more consistent and not decrescendo the way it did.
There is, however, the chance that my opinion/viewing experience was skewed because I saw such a bad "print" of it. I'll definitely be checking this out once it's released. What compelled Wong Kar Wai to make a science fiction film is beyond me but I'm kind of glad he did; it would be interesting to see him go completely for sci-fi instead of making it a frame story (is that an appropriate term for what the sci-fi part of the film was?). Wong captures the plight of a writer very well, direct but poignant and nothing short of the truth. His expressionistic take on unrequited love is heartbreaking yet transcendent. Like I said I'll have to see this in a theater but for now I really, really like this film. A lot.
I thought the writer's plight was just a side note in the movie though. it was mainly about the guy's love affairs, how each lover revealed a different side of Mr. Chu, and his painful longing for the Maggine Cheung character. It's a study of loneliness, from the cause all the way to the aftermath.
Before I came to this thread and read the warnings about the HK DVD, a friend of mine had already rented it and we were planning on watching it tonight. Then I read what Samsong wrote above, and we decided to hold off...but we DID watch the first five minutes, just to see how bad it was. UGGGHHH!!! It was tantalizing! Why hasn't a US distributor picked this up yet?
I've been listening to the soundtrack nonstop lately.
So there's a new international DVD out now, with a good transfer and everything. I watched it tonight and...
..well, suffice to say, it's my new favorite Wong Kar Wai film. Breathtaking is a pretty good word for it.
Quote from: GhostboySo there's a new international DVD out now, with a good transfer and everything. I watched it tonight and...
..well, suffice to say, it's my new favorite Wong Kar Wai film. Breathtaking is a pretty good word for it.
What was your favorite before it?
A friend of mine accidentally ordered 2 copies of this (hopefully it's this good copy) so I'm getting his extra! Time to start selling blood to get the Wong box set as well.
In The Mood For Love, although Fallen Angels sometimes slips up there when I'm feeling a bit more hyper.
Just watched 2046 today, and wow... it wasn't at all what I was expecting, but I loved it.
The nuances were just incredible. I'll have to see it again to follow ALL of the little threads of the story- I did get a little confused once or twice- but overall, an amazing film.
2LB
Quote from: GhostboySo there's a new international DVD out now, with a good transfer and everything. I watched it tonight and...
..well, suffice to say, it's my new favorite Wong Kar Wai film. Breathtaking is a pretty good word for it.
which dvd release? are you talking about the Meh-Ah NTSC edition? How are the subtitles?
Quote from: analogzombie
which dvd release? are you talking about the Meh-Ah NTSC edition? How are the subtitles?
I know you weren't asking me, but this is the release I have, and the subtitles looked good and were always easy to read. (Now, if you mean "how was the translation," you're way over my head! :yabbse-grin: )
2LB
Quote from: Pubrickis the recent fascination with asian cinema the first time america has experienced a behind-the-times phase? i can't remember any other time when the rest of the world got so much shit before them.
i've decided (and i have no idea why) that i really want to see this movie. but the only way to see it anytime soon looks to be that new region 0 dvd. http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDCompare7/2046.htm (i assume this is the one ghostboy is talking about because the quality is much better). however, i dont really need to own it as i dont have any region 0 dvds or anything like that so i basically just want to 'rent' it.
so what i propose, for anyone else interested is if anyone else wants to chip in a few bucks basically to get this thing and then i'll watch it and mail it to you, and you can keep it. or if there are a few of you who are interested just in seeing it we'll basically all pitch in like 5 bucks or whatever and a dollar to ship it between us. so it'd basically be like renting it, especially if it only costs like 13$ to buy in the first place. http://global.yesasia.com/en/PrdDept.aspx/pid-1003829424/code-c/version-all/section-videos/did-106/
If no one else wants in - I'm down.
i'd definitely like to see it, i'm in.
Quote from: UncleJoeySome pictures
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was it just me, or were these not in the film?
You got me: I actually shot those in my backyard.
after the terrible reviews at the cannes, Wong like re-edited a significant amount of his film.
Quote from: UncleJoeyYou got me: I actually shot those in my backyard.
LoL. I wish Tony Leung lived in my backyard. . .
'2046' a good number for SPC
Source: Hollywood Reporter
Sony Pictures Classics will acquire the North American rights to Wong Kar-wai's film "2046," the studio said Tuesday. Starring Tony Leung Chiu-wai ("Hero"), Ziyi Zhang, ("House of Flying Daggers"), Gong Li ("Farewell My Concubine") and Maggie Cheung ("Hero"), "2046" is Wong's first feature film since the award-winning "In the Mood for Love" four years ago. It features cinematography by Christopher Doyle and editing, art design and costumes by William Chang Suk-Ping. "2046" premiered In Competition at last year's Festival de Cannes and already has opened in a number of markets worldwide. The film will have its U.S. premiere at the upcoming Tribeca Film Festival, with a general release in the fall.
it won't be coming out til the fall. dammit! thank christ for chinatown region free import dvds...
i can wait. fall's not that far away, i suppose. they're doing a wong kar wai retrospective here in boston that i'm excited for. i've been meaning to see more of his films. the only ones i've seen were in the mood for love (which i really enjoyed) and chungking express (which i thought was pretty cool). they're shot so nicely, it'll be rockin' to see them on the big screen.
i guess i should've been a little more patient. 2046 can now be netflixed.
http://www.netflix.com/MovieDisplay?movieid=70025409&trkid=90529
New Trailer here. (http://www.apple.com/trailers/sony/2046.html)
Strange Yet Cool: Listening to Wong Kar Wai...and Making Sense of "2046"
by Eugene Hernandez/indieWIRE
Sitting in the front row of the Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center in June, a young woman from Hong Kong smiled broadly and shifted around in her seat excitedly, awaiting the start of a screening of "2046." We started chatting and I assumed from her enthusiasm that she had not yet seen the movie. Telling her that she was in for a real treat, I started to talk a bit about the movie. She politely admitted that she had already seen various versions of the film a half-dozen times, mostly on imported DVDs. On this particular night, because director Wong Kar Wai would be making an appearance to introduce the screening and participate in a Q&A after the showing, a large crowd was filling the theater. As the screening time approached, the women next to me became increasingly giddy with excitement, so I showed her a digital camera photo that I had just taken of Wong Kar Wai at the pre-screening reception, assuming that this would be the first time she was seeing him in pers on. She literally squealed as she looked at the image but then admitted that she'd already met him on numerous occasions back in Hong Kong. So finally I asked her directly why she was so excited. "Because I love him," she exclaimed.
In a theater jammed with equally amorous fans of his work, Wong Kar Wai talked extensively, and at times quite vaguely, about his latest film. Wearing his trademark dark sunglasses and black Izod Lacoste polo shirt, the filmmaker reflected on the new movie, its connection to his previous films, working with cinematographer Christopher Doyle, and the movie's music.
Opening Friday (August 5th) in the U.S., Wong Kar Wai's "2046" is the continuation of the story of a writer (played by Tony Leung) who carries out a number of affairs with women (including Ziyi Zhang, Gong Li, Carina Lau, Faye Wong, and Maggie Cheung), in a hotel room with a memorable room number.
The film premiered late at Cannes 2004, missing its festival debut when it was not quite ready; Wong brought the movie to Cannes a day later and unveiled the film amidst critical complaints that it felt unfinished. He eventually re-worked the film a bit before it opened in China at the end of September. Describing the film, which in many parts bore a strong resemblance to his last movie "In the Mood for Love," Wong Kar-Wai said at a Cannes press conference, "The film is actually a portrait of a person who is trying to get away from his past -- the more you try to forget it, the more you remember it, maybe one day the past or the memory will leave you." The title marks the year five decades after the handover of Hong Kong back to China. "How you deal with your past (is) not only about a person, it can be a city, it can be about anything," Wong summed up in Cannes.
Asked at what point he realized he was making a sequel to "In The Mood For Love," Wong Kar Wai offered during the Lincoln Center discussion, "In fact, I started this film at the same time -- we started the two films back to back, at first we thought 'In the Mood' would take three months, but it took nine months. I never thought '2046' would be a sequel, but in the process I realized that the two films were connected in certain ways." He then quipped, "I think that, like a joke... that became the beginning of the troubles in a way."
"2046" is a film that took Wong years to finish, with production stopped due to SARS and the story changing over time. In Cannes last year, many joked that this movie would not be seen until the year of its title, a charge that stung the filmmaker. He said in Cannes the day after the premiere, "(As of) today this joke is over and I am so glad, thank you very much."
"I don't think '2046' is like a sequel, it is like a continuation," Wong emphasized during his appearance in New York in June. "I think the two films are about two different subjects." Continuing he tried to sum it up, saying, "'In The Mood for Love' is a love story about two persons, '2046' is a story about a love story, about the writer Tony Leung himself."
Perhaps explaining it a bit more succinctly, in New York this spring for the Tribeca Film Festival, actor Leung offered, "If 'In the Mood For Love' was a love story, then '2046' is a story about love."
So, in the follow-up to "In The Mood," Leung returns as a writer who meets a young prostitute (played by Ziyi Zhang) in hotel room 2046, the same room where he had the affair with a married woman (Maggie Cheung) in the previous film. Reflecting on love and loss, the writer composes a futuristic story entitled "2046."
"'2046 is like a reunion," explained Wong Kar Wai, "Some characters from my previous films show up. You see how many things have changed, or they can remain unchanged." Noting the ending of his 1991 film "Days of Being Wild," Wong reminded the Lincoln Center screening attendees that Tony Leung appears at the end of that film, a finale that Wong said was one of his favorite endings of all of his films and a movie that was supposed to have a second part. Since making that film, he had hoped to make another movie about the gambler character.
Q&A sessions with the director do not always give his fans clear answers. "In '2046' Tony is a gambler, it can be like the ending of 'Days of Being Wild'," Wong Kar Wai riffed, "And the beginning of '2046' can happen in one night with a difference of twelve years."
Perhaps a bit more concretely, Wong was asked about his use of Christmas as a recurring time period in the new film. He explained, "In the film there are four chapters, each chapter begins or ends with Christmas." Noting that the motif is used because the Christmas holiday often sees the highest rate of suicides, Wong added, "On Christmas, or Christmas Eve people feel very lonely on a time or date or night that you are supposed to share with someone else."
In "2046" the sounds of "The Christmas Song," performed in the movie by both Umebayashi Shigeru and the Nat King Cole Trio, signal the holiday season. Not surprisingly, "2046" boasts an exceptional soundtrack (available on import) offering Umebayashi Shigeru and Peer Raben, as well as classic tunes from Xavier Cugat with Connie Francis, Dean Martin, and Cole. Asked about his criteria for choosing the music, Wong said that the soundtrack in his films gives a sense of rhythm to he and his crew. "In this film, in a ballroom or hotel, we have a lot of dance music," citing Cugat, Martin, and Francis (who sings the ever-present "Siboney" in the film), "Its music that reminds me of that person." Citing music in the work of Truffaut, Fassbinder and Kieslowski, Wong added, "Especially coming back to you is the date or the time that you look at this film, it is also a tribute to my favorite directors."
Of course, another trademark of Wong Kar Wai's filmmaking is its distinctive visual style. In the case of the striking look of "2046," Wong was asked at Lincoln Center why he chose to shoot in such a widescreen format. "My main reason is I want to torture Chris Doyle," Wong smiled, referring to longtime collaborator, cinematographer Doyle, who shot the film on Super 35 film stock in the crammed locations. Asked about the colors and look of this movie, Wong Kar Wai explained, "There are two types of cinematographers," adding obliquely, "Some work like soldiers and some work like sailors." He seemed to be saying that some are steady and some change a lot, placing Doyle in the sailor camp. "For Chris, he started as a sailor, he needs to move, and in a way I give him space, but most of the time I decide about the framing, the look, and even the colors, but it doesn't mean that he works according to what I decided. So there will be surprises, but most of the time it is a good s urprise."
Asked further about some of the distinctive distorted images included in "2046," Wong Kar Wai admitted that in the film, Doyle used some lenses that were more than 40 years old. "I think that is because of the lense, sometimes they have defects, somehow we have to turn these defects into a style or reflections or distortions," he said, eliciting laughter from the audience. "It makes it look like something really cool," he smiled, adding, "I think Chris did a very good job on this."
Finally, Wong Kar Wai was asked about a key element in '2046' in which characters whisper their secrets into a black hole. "What is my secret, he pondered, then answered, "To me my film is my hole, I have put all my secrets in the film."
The woman seated next to me loved that answer. Wong Kar Wai's fans enjoy the occasional teases and vague answers, they've become as much a trademark of the filmmaker as the distinct slo-mo, saturated visuals, his use of latin-flavored music, or his own black polo shirt and trademark dark glasses.
About those glasses, a friend and I had been chatting continuously throughout the evening about those sunglasses he wears even during a low-lit reception or in a dark theater, wondering what purpose they serve. I've never seen him without them, so I asked the woman seated next to me if that was to mask an eye defect, or maybe shield him from light due to super sensitive eyes. Or was it simply part of his style.
She replied simply, "I think it is to make him look cool."
i wonder if the version being released in theatres is any different than the version pete saw in Taiwan or the version ghostboy and i saw on dvd. does anyone know if the editing continued past its original theatrical release?
I'm almost sure it didn't. though the version the actors talked about during the publicity tour in Taiwan was different from the final version.
I recently read an interview with Doyle in a swedish magazine in which he said that this could be his last collaboration with WKW. 2046 flopping broke WKWs heart and made him very depressed. Doyle said that he doesn't have five years to invest in just one project.
2046 flopped?
Quote from: Tictacbk2046 flopped?
In Hong Kong, according to Doyle.
its funny/strange that the director or DP cannot judge the work on its own merits, but can only see whether its worthwhile or not based on its box office? if that is true, its kind of sad.
Five years is quite a chunk of a lifetime.
He has also shot quite a bit since 2000. Maybe the whole experience of actaully filmming wore on their relationship.
I guess M. Night for WKW is a fair trade???
I don't think it's just bad box office performance, I don't think 2046 was well-received anywhere. I mean, people liked it, but the responses have been politely lukewarm.
doyle on the other hand, have just blossomed. Hero and Last Life in the Universe really pushed him into international stardom. I mean that guy is like a one-man film crew now.
FEATURE - In the Mood for Leung
After six movies together, Hong Kong superstar Tony Leung still feels like he doesn't really know director Wong Kar-wai. And that's partly because they rarely talk on set. By Pam Grady, FilmStew.com
Hong Kong superstar Tony Leung is trying to describe the particular alchemy that develops when he works with the great Wong Kar-wai. The two have collaborated on six films over more than a dozen years, beginning with 1991's Days of Being Wild and culminating most recently with the highly lauded 2046, Wong's loose follow-up to 2000's In the Mood for Love.
It has been a fruitful collaboration. Of Leung's seven Hong Kong Film Awards (out of 10 nominations), four are for Wong's films, including the latest for 2046. But it has also been a sometimes-difficult partnership, as Leung admits during a recent interview with FilmStew in San Francisco. "You can't work with other directors the way you work with Kar-wai," he insists. "It would kill you. You would die."
In person, Leung has none of the airs of one of the world's true international stars. He has no entourage and is dressed simply in a striped cotton shirt and jeans. Shy and soft-spoken, he worries a hole in his knee with his finger, a way perhaps to deflect attention from the handsome face that is so familiar not just from his work with Wong, but also for films, such as Hero, John Woo's Hard-Boiled and Bullet in the Head, Andrew Lau's Infernal Affairs and Infernal Affairs 3.
2046 took a circuitous route to the screen. Leung remembers they began shooting in Bangkok while in the midst of making In the Mood for Love. Leung had to step away from both projects to fulfill commitments in Tokyo and while he was away, Wong continued to work on the new film, shooting portions of it that didn't require Leung's participation. When his star returned to the In the Mood for Love set, Wong continued to work on both projects.
Then, two years went by. In the interim, In the Mood for Love erupted on the world stage to tremendous acclaim, winning awards and nominations around the globe. Leung took home the acting prize at Cannes and the movie garnered 12 nominations at the 2001 Hong Kong Film Awards, winning five, including another Best Actor award for Leung. So with anticipation heightened for the new production, 2046 started up again in 2002.
It was a stop-and-start affair. Since none of the actors seriously considered that the shoot would go for years, all of them had committed themselves to other projects. Leung himself made three more films during the life of the 2046 shoot, including Infernal Affairs, which earned him yet another Hong Kong film prize. So scheduling became a headache for Wong, as did juggling multiple locations across Asia. If that were not enough, the SARS epidemic brought the film to a temporary halt.
But the delays were not as frustrating for the 43-year-old actor as working with his trying auteur can sometimes be. With other directors, Leung enjoys a spirit of collaboration. He is used to a lot of preparation, to hanging out with his director in advance of the shoot to work out the script and nail down his character. That is not something that happens with Wong, who notoriously eschews working with a finished screenplay.
The two men have worked together on and off for about 15 years now, but Leung says he still doesn't know Wong very well. "For me, he's still a very mysterious guy. We seldom talk, even on the set. I don't know how we work out, but we seldom talk and we keep a distance, even on this last film. I don't know why. Maybe he wants to keep us fresh for each other every time we work together, but that's how we work," Leung explains.
Complicating 2046 for Leung is that he both is and is not playing the same character, Mr. Chow, that he played in In the Mood for Love. Both Mr. Chows live in Hong Kong (and have spent time living in other countries), both are writers (but while the first Mr. Chow was a journalist who took up writing kung-fu serials, the second spends his days working on sci-fi pulp), 2046's Mr. Chow lives in the building where his predecessor conducted his affair of the mind (if not the body) with his wife's lover's wife. Both live in an impossibly stylish and glamorous rendering of the 1960s. But where the original Mr. Chow was a subdued romantic, hurt by his spouse's betrayal, the new model is a dandyish sleaze and ladies' man.
"The first day, Kar-wai told me he wanted me to play the same character as In the Mood for Love, but he wants to play him like a new character, to play him very differently, a cynical playboy," recalls Leung. "It was difficult, because I was used to the original Mr. Chow with everything the same. I thought it wouldn't be easy for me to do."
Leung is an actor who likes to work from the outside in, fixing the character in his mind by fixing his appearance. The way he saw it, the easiest way to begin to differentiate one Mr. Chow from the other was to adopt a mustache for the rakish new model. But when he approached Wong with the idea, that set off an argument that Leung remembers vividly.
"I asked him, 'Can I have a mustache?' He said, 'No!' I said, 'Why?' He said, 'Because it will be more powerful if everything remains the same but you act differently. Same face. Everything.' I said, 'I know. I know, but I cannot. I can't.'"
That was a fight the actor eventually won and to that first attempt at a new characterization, he experimented with a new walk, different body language, and even altered his voice. It was still difficult in the beginning. "When you act, you're not conscious of how you move and how you gesture and [I would] jump back to the original Mr. Chow very unconsciously."
"We have the same names, the same surroundings, so I would jump back and Kar-wai used to remind me, 'No, no, no, Tony, it's the same voice again. That's the old Mr. Chow.'"
Working with Wong can be an adventure. The actors know it is useless to have any preconceived notions about their characters or the story, because Wong has new ideas every day. The director's exacting nature can be frustrating for the performers, as when he will shoot scenes over and over again, not because there is anything wrong with the acting, but because he will decide that the costumes aren't right.
Leung recollects his exasperation with Wong as they would watch the dailies together. "He would say he wanted the same exact performance again and how can you do exactly the same thing? Sometimes I don't quite remember that I've done this scene before; sometimes I will have done it half a year ago. So sometimes it could be really painful and he puts pressure on you to do it exactly the same way. Sometimes maybe after you did it, he'll come up with another idea. 'We should do it on the street and not in the restaurant any more.' 'Again?'"
He watched as his parade of beautiful co-stars, Zhang Ziyi, Faye Wong, Gong Li, and Karina Lau arrived and left, as their parts were finished, while Leung remained attached to the project. "It was sad for me to see people come in and out and saying, 'Congratulations! You're finished.'"
Wong's methods serve to keep his actors off balance. Leung was not even sure exactly what 2046 was until he finally saw the finished film. "It's very insecure and frustrating during shooting and you don't even know after the last day's shooting, you have no idea of what the story is about. There are too many possibilities. They are too many endings. He can do a cut for five different movies," Leung marvels.
Certainly, 2046 astonished the actor. He thought he was simply making a movie about a man and his life. He has since revised his opinion. "After I saw the movie, I thought it was a lot more complicated. It's a story about promise. It's a story about lost memories, fantasies and realities, and about love," he enthuses. "I see all those layers and when I was shooting I didn't have any idea of that. He's the kind of director who never reveals - even if he has a story in mind - he never reveals it to his actors."
The director and star are already talking about a seventh collaboration in which Leung would play Bruce Lee's master. But if working with Wong Kar-wai is so difficult, why does Leung continue to do it? "The reason why I work with Kar-wai is that he makes me look different from other directors. He has a very different perspective on me. I don't know how, but he can just make the best out of me. He can explore some qualities that sometimes I'm not even aware of," Leung suggests.
The soft-spoken actor chuckles as he continues, "The process is not always enjoyable. It's painful, but the results are always a surprise."
Quote from: pete
doyle on the other hand, have just blossomed. Hero and Last Life in the Universe really pushed him into international stardom. I mean that guy is like a one-man film crew now.
I read somewhere that in many cases of foreign financing, having his name attached to a project will get more money than any actors.'
Can you imagine him working with M. Night, though? Night doesn't seem to have a sense of humor whatsoever - it must be an interesting working contrast. I'm sure the movie will look great.
Anyway, that's another thread. I can't wait to see 2046 on the big screen next week. I, for one, loved it.
Yeah...Production aside, I thought the film said everything it had to say in the first half. The rest seemed like Wong was sucking his own dick, so to speak -- saying the same things over and over in as many abstracted, esoteric ways he could conceive of. And seeing this within a day or so of Broken Flowers last month canceled them both out. One had too much thought put into it, the other not enough. Figure out which is which...
haha you wanted character arcs.
No, I wanted films that worked. Films that contained things that surprised and impressed me. The first half of 2046 was interesting. The rest was caught in a loop. Broken Flowers all around was obvious and not well thought through.
Quote from: mutinycoFigure out which is which...
i'll get right on it!
You do that P. You do that.
well, yet another Wong Kar-Wai film that I loved. His pacing always seems to lull me a little, but by the time it is over, I just keep thinking about what I saw. It is at this point that his films go from very good > great > incredible in my mind.
(https://xixax.com/images/avatars/7360651914321d2273a70c.jpg)
HOLY FUCKING HELL!!!
I must have posted on this a while back, about being underwhelmed by 2046... I was so dead wrong (for the first time ever, crazy).
It's a beautiful terrible wonderful masterful piece of cinema. WKW is the man. All the way home...
Quote from: SoNowThenI must have posted on this a while back, about being underwhelmed by 2046... I was so dead wrong (for the first time ever, crazy).
It's a beautiful terrible wonderful masterful piece of cinema. WKW is the man. All the way home...
Did you see it again or did it just grow on you?
Quote from: SoNowThenanything
Quote from: bonanzatazHOLY FUCKING HELL!!!
So gimme a break, I been busy...
Yeah, I saw it again, in the comfort of my own home, wide awake. Plus I needed the insight of an incredible romance that turned brutal... to clue me into Tony's mood. Cos at first I had trouble reconciling the sweet romantic in the first movie with the cold womaniser of the current one. Not that it's as cut and dry as that, but you get the point. There was a moment, a line, I can't remember now, but it was spot on, and I wouldn't have agreed with it unless I'd been through it.
Also, I think the print I saw was crap, cos I remember not liking the colors, but they looked great on dvd.
i just saw the film tonight. i really loved it. it makes me wanna watch DAYS OF BEING WILD, IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE and 2046 in order. to me though, i kinda felt the film should have been a lil' longer. i feel that there was another love story there that WKW cut out. to me, 3 hours would have been great. it was also really good to see faye wong and tony leung on the screen together. it made me feel very good to see them again.
anyone read the articles on WKW in the latest cineaste or the last film comment magazines?
Quote from: rudiecorexxxit makes me wanna watch DAYS OF BEING WILD, IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE and 2046 in order.
You just gave me a great idea! Thanks!
Sony Pictures has announced the
acclaimed 2046 for release on December 27th. The film, starring the
beautiful Zhang Ziyi, arrives with a 2.40:1 anamorphic transfer, Cantonese Dolby
Digital 5.1 audio and English subtitles. Extras will include an audio commentary
with director Wong Kar-wai, deleted scenes, a making-of featurette, cast
interviews and photo galleries. Retail is going to be $24.96.
WKW audio commentary track!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) :) :)
no chris doyle?
So I saw this recently. Was it kinda stupid for me to rent this? coz I've never seen any of his films before and i dont know if this was the right introduction.
Well I didn't love it, but I liked it enough that I want to In The Mood for Love. And if I like that I'll see the rest of his movies. I realize that the sci-fi aspect of this movie was directly related to the main themes, but it really took me out of the story. I think the movie would've been better off cutting out the sci-fi section altogether. there is already so much going on, and it moves so quickly through the different relationships that it becomes an unnecesary distraction.
But man, the visuals in this movie are so fucking strong that it carries the movie. for example, i don't think they fleshed out the main character enough -- i never felt like i really got him, y'know? But there are so many wonderful moments where the music and the visuals are used so well that i forgive alot of the shortcomings in the story and just like it for what it is.
3.25 out of 4
sidenote: I'm kinda pissed that they used "the christmas song," especially the way they did, cause i always pictured using in it a similar moment for one of my movies.
Quote from: JimmyGator on February 28, 2006, 09:32:22 PM
3.25 out of 4
sorry to pick on you, really, cos i think your heart's in the right place.. i just want to know: did you give a score cos you think it means something? or do you realise it is completely and utterly void of any significance whatsoever and you wrote it anyway?
i know it's insignificant and pretty meaningless...it's just something i do. it's a bad habit of mine to come up with a star rating after i've seen a movie.
Quote from: JimmyGator on February 28, 2006, 09:32:22 PM
sidenote: I'm kinda pissed that they used "the christmas song," especially the way they did, cause i always pictured using in it a similar moment for one of my movies.
I experienced the exact same thing when I heard Brian Eno's great (and very cinematic) "By This River" in both
Y Tu Mama Tambien and, more prominently and meaningfully, in Nanni Moretti's
The Son's Room. Me: "Hey! That was
my idea!" :yabbse-sad: