2046

"It's as if he boarded a very long train headed for a drowsy future through the unfathomable night". Chow Mo Wan

A film by Wong Kar-wai. Backdrops of 1960s Hong Kong ignite the screen in a kaleidoscope of color. Beautiful, ornate decor, floral prints and lighting that exudes a sense of nostalgic transience are combined with worn and tattered structures. At once the atmosphere of the film commands your attention. The soundtrack teases the ears with symphonic romance. The smooth, sad and detached melody of Shigeru Umebayashi successfully transports the viewer into the scene. The visual emotion of the characters are heightened, resonating with the observer's consciousness.
2046, the novel in which Mr. Chow, the protagonist is authoring, is described as a place from which "no one has ever come back". The temporal shift from present to Mr. Chow's fictitious future cityscape is spent aboard a mysterious train along a seemingly never ending route. A constant relationship between proximity and dislocation is established through this transitional metaphor, but is also present in the story's failed love affairs which are situated within the various space-times.

Wong Kar-wai is attributed with a unique style, a visual and emotional pastiche, which emphatically dictate both mood and atmosphere. His delicate play of subtle hues combined with a masterful distortion of depth leave the observer in a state of uncertainty. This spatial technique emphasizes the obvious and leaves the full context to be imagined. It is disorienting as a true perspective cannot be obtained. The reversal of this situation — placing the background in focus and foreground left in obscurity — embodies a more fluid sensation, as if the destination is within reach and time resumes or even seems to advance.