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Wong Kar-wai's new film coming soon
Wong Kar-wai's maddeningly belated film 2046 has taken him four years to shoot. True to his enigmatic character, he has kept details of the movie vague and mysterious.
Wong began filming 2046 while he was still filming his last feature, In the Mood For Love, and has told the media that he considers this latest film to be a continuation of that film - though knowing Wong, this probably doesn't mean that it will be a straight-forward sequel. The film is apparently an expansion of a scene originally shot for In the Mood For Love. In a November press conference in Shanghai, Wong revealed some details of the plot. Tony Leung, who played the depressed protagonist in In the Mood For Love, plays essentially the same character in 2046, though this time he is a novelist rather than a newspaper editor. According to Wong, the title of the movie refers to an important year for Hong Kong - in 1997, after the handover back to the China Mainland, the Chinese Government promised Hong Kong 50 years of autonomy. 2046 will mark the end of that 50 years. The title also apparently refers to a sci-fi novel that Leung's character writes based on a one-night tryst with a prostitute in room 2046 of a hotel. Wong's usual cast is onboard: Maggie Cheung, Faye Wong, Chang Chen - and Zhang Ziyi will also make an appearance as a robot looking for love. According to Wong, In the Mood For Love was about changing emotions contrasted with an unchanging background. Apparently, 2046 is about the same thing, whatever that means. Faye Wong, the Hong Kong popstar (who starred in Chungking Express), also plays a robot who is loved by two men played by Chang Chen and Takaya Kimura. Shanghai, the director's birthplace, is the backdrop to the film, and the film will feature both 1960s Shanghai and a Bladerunner-esque Shanghai of the future. Wong has promised a lot of digital effects, which he has also used as an excuse for the delays in production. Fans are certainly expecting a super-slick, super-cool hipster masterpiece. Some have joked that the title of the film might also refer to the actual release date. But as of press time, the film is slated for a spring release, and is also rumoured that it may premier at Cannes. The China Film Cooperation has bought the distribution rights for the film and it is currently being censored for mainland release. The film is expected to premier here during the Lantern Festival. Whatever the reasons for the delays, the anticipation and speculation have driven fans into a frenzy. From all indications, this film may very well meet or exceed expectations, ushering in a new era of Chinese cool.
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Some say that he never takes his sunglasses off, even when shooting. Rumour also has it that 2046 has no script at all, which explains the many rampant speculations on the plot of the film. In a 2001 interview with Bomb magazine, Wong revealed that "it is a futuristic film, but it's not a science fiction film. There are three stories in the film, and each one is adapted from a Western opera - Madame Butterfly, Carmen and Tannhauser."
