2046 (2004)

Director:

Kar Wai Wong

Writer:

Kar Wai Wong (screenplay)

Release Date:

29 September 2004 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy | Romance | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Where everything ends... and begins (Spanish translation)

Plot:

He was a writer. He thought he wrote about the future but it really was the past. In his novel, a mysterious train left for 2046 every once in a while...

Plot Keywords:

Train | Writer | Digit In Title | Visual Metaphor | Sex

Awards:

32 wins & 31 nominations

Cast

Tony Leung Chiu Wai	...	Chow Mo-wan (as Tony Leung)
Li Gong	...	Su Li-zhen
Faye Wong	...	Wang Jing-wen / Android
Takuya Kimura	...	Tak / Wang Jing-wen's Boyfriend
Ziyi Zhang	...	Bai Ling
Carina Lau	...	Lulu / Mimi / Android
Chen Chang	...	Mimi's Boyfriend
Jie Dong	...	Wang Jie-wen
Maggie Cheung	...	Su Li-zhen
Thongchai McIntyre	...	Bird (as Bird Thongchai McIntyre)
Wang Sum	...	Mr. Wang / Train Captain
Ping Lam Siu	...	Ah Ping
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Alice Lee	...	Hostess
Ting Yip Ng	...	(unconfirmed)

Directed by
Kar Wai Wong

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Kar Wai Wong		screenplay

Produced by
Wai-Chung Chan	....	line producer
Ye-cheng Chan	....	executive producer
Gilles Ciment	....	co-executive producer
Eric Heumann	....	co-producer
Stéphane Kooshmanian	....	associate producer
Amedeo Pagani	....	co-producer
Zhong-lun Ren	....	executive producer
Marc Sillam	....	co-producer
Kar Wai Wong	....	producer

Original Music by
Shigeru Umebayashi

Cinematography by
Christopher Doyle
Pung-Leung Kwan

Film Editing by
William Chang		(as William Chang Suk Ping)

Production Design by
William Chang		(as William Chang Suk Ping)

Art Direction by
Alfred Yau

Costume Design by
William Chang

Production Management
Olivier Chiavassa	....	production manager
Chiu Wah Lee	....	production manager
Helen Li	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Shin-shi Hui	....	second second assistant director
Johnnie Kong	....	assistant director
Ji-wei Kuan	....	first assistant director
Shao-hua Li	....	assistant director
Rosanna Ng	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Ping Lam Siu	....	property master

Sound Department
Michael Baird	....	sound designer
Yu Teng Hsu	....	boom operator
Claude Letessier	....	supervising sound designer
Du-Che Tu	....	sound designer (as Tu Duu Chih)
Bruno Seznec	....	re-recording mixer: remix (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Johnny Alves	....	digital effects artist
Florent Andorra	....	digital artist
Jérôme Arthuis	....	processing: DuboiColor
François-Xavier Aubague	....	visual effects supervisor
Christophe Belena	....	coordinator scans/recording/color grading: Duboicolor
Nadir Benhassaine	....	visual effects coordinator: BUF Compagnie
Mélodie Boileau	....	visual effects coordinator
Nicolas Bonnell	....	visual effects producer: BUF
Coralie Boulay	....	visual effects editor
Pierre Buffin	....	visual effects supervisor: BUF
Florent Cadel	....	digital artist
Nicolas Daniel	....	video operator: Duboicolor
Sébastien Drouin	....	visual effects supervisor
Laurent Gillet	....	visual effects: Buf Compagnie
Rip Hampton O'Neil	....	technical director: Duboicolor (as Rip O'Neil)
Sonia Holst	....	visual effects coordinator: Buf Compagnie
Abdel Ali Kassou	....	processing: DuboiColor
Didier le Fouest	....	digital colorist (as Didier Le Fouest)
Damien Macé	....	compositor
Karine Marchandou	....	digital grading manager
Loris Paillier	....	digital artist
Philippe Palmieri	....	digital artist
Xavier Perol	....	digital artist
Boris Plateau	....	digital compositor
Olivier Pron	....	concept artist
Olivier Pron	....	digital artist
Guillaume Raffi	....	visual effects coordinator: Buf Compagnie
Sebastien Rame	....	digital compositor
Eddy Richard	....	digital artist: BUF
Mathilde Tollec	....	digital artist
Daniel Trujillo	....	digital artist
Jean-Marc van Rijswick	....	digital artist: BUF
David Verbeke	....	visual effects supervisor
Dominique Vidal	....	visual effects: BUF
Raphael Zito	....	digital effects artist
Sophie Gateau	....	digital artist (uncredited)

Stunts
Wei Tung	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Ian Freeman	....	grip
Pung-Leung Kwan	....	director of photography: second unit
Yiu-Fai Lai	....	director of photography: second unit
Ho Po Wing	....	dolly grip
Chi Ming Wong	....	gaffer (as Wong Chi Ming)

Editorial Department
Serge Anthony	....	color timer (as Serge Antony)
Nicolas Billy	....	colorist
Pak Shing Lin	....	assistant editor
Fabien Pascal	....	color timer
Laurent Pelé	....	assistant editor

Other crew
Stephanie Cheung	....	production secretary

Production Companies

• Jet Tone Films (as Jet Tone Films Ltd)
• Shanghai Film Group Corporation
• Orly Films
• Paradis Films
• Classic (co-production) (as Classic Srl)
• Precious Yield (co-production) (as Precious Yield Ltd)
• arte France Cinéma (with the participation of)
• France 3 Cinéma (with the participation of)
• ZDF/Arte (with the participation of)

Distributors

• Block 2 Pictures (2004) (non-USA) (theatrical)
• 1More Film (2005) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox (2004) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Alfa Films (2005) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• ArtCam (2005) (Czech Republic) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista International (2004) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Cinema Mondo (2004) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Filmcoopi Zürich (2004-2005) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Fox Korea (2004) (Korea) (theatrical)
• Istituto Luce (2004) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Mongrel Media (2005) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Océan Films (2004) (France) (theatrical)
• Pandora Filmes (2006) (Brazil) (theatrical)
• Prokino Filmverleih (2005) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Classics (2005) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Tartan Films (2005) (UK) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox (2004) (Hong Kong) (DVD)
• A-Film Home Entertainment (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Madman Entertainment (2005) (Australia) (DVD)
• Madman Entertainment (2005) (New Zealand) (DVD)
• Nederlandse Programma Stichting (NPS) (2007) (Netherlands) (TV) (first national airing)
• Palisades Tartan (2009) (UK) (all media)
• Palisades-Tartan Acquisitions (2008) (UK) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2005) (Germany) (DVD)
• Tartan Video (2005) (UK) (DVD)
• Transeuropa Video Entertainment (TVE) (2005) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Transeuropa Video Entertainment (TVE) (2005) (Argentina) (VHS)

Special Effects

• BUF (visual effects)

Other Companies

• 3H Sound Studio Ltd.  post-production sound services
• Duboi  digital film scanning
• Duran Duboi  digital intermediate
• Kantana Animation Co. Ltd.  film processing
• Laboratoires LTC  film processing
• Laboratoires Éclair  color timing
• Les Auditoriums de Joinville  sound re-recording
• Mandarin Laboratory (International) Ltd.  subtitles
• Ramindra Sound Recording Studios  sound recording studio
• Salon Films  camera and lighting equipment provided by
• Shanghai Film Technology Plant  film processing
• Shaw Brothers  prints: Hong Kong
• Tai Fung (Tsu's) Co. Ltd.  film supplied by (as FUJIFILM)

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for sexual content

Runtime:

129 min

Country:

Hong Kong | China | France | Italy | Germany

Language:

Cantonese | Japanese | Mandarin

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Finland:K-11 | France:U | Germany:12 | Ireland:12 (video rating) | Ireland:15A (original rating) | Italy:T | Netherlands:12 | Singapore:NC-16 | South Korea:18 | Spain:13 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12A | USA:R | China:17 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Malaysia:18SX (uncut version) | Malaysia:U (cut version) | Hungary:16 | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Hong Kong:IIB | Brazil:16 | Portugal:M/12

Filming Locations:

China

Company:

Jet Tone Films

Trivia:

The title of the film refers to the last year before the 50-year period the Chinese Government promised to let Hong Kong remain as it is. Hong Kong was returned to China in 1997.

Quotes:

Chow Mo Wan:Love is all a matter of timing.
Chow Mo Wan:It's no good meeting the right person too soon or too late.
Chow Mo Wan:If I'd lived in another time or place...
Chow Mo Wan:...my story might have had a very different ending.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Ellada - Kina: Mikroi dialogoi politismou (2008) (TV)

Soundtrack:

2046 Main Theme

Behind every memory, there are traces of tears

I went to watch 2046 after reading millions and millions of interviews and reviews... seriously, it was really difficult to keep an open mind about a movie as talked about as this... imagine 5 years of anticipation.

I started watching trying my very best to keep an open mind, but after a while... i realize i din have to, gradually, my mind just goes on this journey with the story, gone were the reviews and interviews and comments. During the movie, i did not think about anything else except wat was happening in the movie. There is so much in this movie that i think i could write a novel about it.

This movie is about perceptions and memories. how a memory can dictate the way a person lives his or her life. The stories of the many girls are seen thru the eyes of the charismatic and talented Tony Leung. There are many girls in his life. All these girls have a story, a story as seen and perceived by Zhou Mu Yun.

The first story would definitely be the story of the first Su Li Zhen (Maggie Cheung) and Zhou Mu Yun, this is the story that shaped Zhou's life, even though in this movie, Maggie only appears in a few shots. but the basis is all laid out in "In the Mood for Love".

The second story is lulu's (Carina Lau) story. The meeting described by Zhou took place in the time span after "Days of Being Wild". I find it such a pity that Wong Kar Wai edited out so much of Lulu's story. I would really wish to have seen more of it.

Then there is the story of the second Su Li Zhen in Singapore. The mysterious woman who wears one black glove. Zhou finds new solace in her. Using her to fill up the gap left by the first Su.

The saddest story in in movie will have to be Bai Yun's(ZHang ZiYi). She definite loves Zhou with all her heart, but he treats her like a pro. At some point in the movie, i wanted to slap both Bai and Zhou. Bai for being so lovelorn, and Zhou for being so stupid, the girls he love wouldn't leave with him, now the girl that loves him so much, he refused her over and over.

The last, and definitely my favourite story would definitely be Wong Jing Wen's(Faye Wong), any mandarin speaking person would know that Wong Jing Wen is the moniker Faye Wong went with when she first started singing. Anyway... all these while i never thought Faye could act, but i guess with no anticipation, there wont be disappointment. And Faye proved that her portrayal of the hotel proprietor's daughter. Wong is the only woman in the movie that is not romantically linked to Zhou, although it was hinted that he was in love with her. Wong and her Japanese boyfriend(Takuya Kimura) were in love but Proprietor Wong refused to even meet the boy. Undaunted Takuya asked Wong to leave with him, but her refusal to give him an answer span the very basis of 2046, which Zhou aptly named "2047" in the movie. *grinz*

*Self-Indulgent Note* I am the Biggest fan of the late Jeanette Lin Tsai from the 50's Cathay era. And i have always felt that Faye looks a whole lot like her. But i will be kissing the ground that Wong Kar Wai step on, because he managed to capture Jeanette Lin's essence in Faye. Unwittingly no doubt, but it helped me indulged in a memory that i wish to forever keep in 2046.