Sci-Fi, Disguised [movies]

2046

Sometimes the best sci-fi is barely sci-fi at all

---

Here in the good ol’ US of A we’ve come to equate sci-fi with big action, blockbuster summer movies to the point that you really don’t see the genre getting much attention outside of that department. Ever since “Star Wars”, we’ve been accustomed to stories that focus mainly on explosions, alien invasions, special effects-laden chase scenes and lone wolf superheroes that save the galaxy. I can only guess that’s why people seem to scratch their heads when I tell them that my favorite sci-fi movie of the last decade is a Chinese art-house film set in the 1960s called “2046”.

“That’s a sci-fi movie?” people ask me when I recommend it to them and at that point I must admit that no, it’s not strictly sci-fi, but it’s still the best sci-fi movie I’ve seen in a long, long time.

“2046” is a complicated movie on many fronts. First of all, it is a sequel to director Wong Kar-Wai’s earlier film “In The Mood For Love", which itself is a spiritual successor to one of his first films, “Days Of Being Wild". But unlike most sequels, it’s not necessary at all that you see either of these previous films to enjoy “2046”. All you need know is that the main character in “2046”, Chow Mo-wan (Tony Leung) is a genre writer/journalist who used to rent an apartment, #2047, next door to a woman named Su Li-Zhen (Maggie Cheung), who occupied #2046. Both characters were married with spouses that were always away on business and after becoming close friends, they began to believe their spouses were both cheating on them. As a result, the two of them have a very awkward affair in which they never actually consummate their relationship for fear of being guilty of what they accuse their spouses of and then eventually part ways, never fully succumbing to their feelings for each other.

“2046” takes places years after their parting, in swinging 1960s Hong Kong where Chow Mo-Wan is now masking his woes with a flamboyant playboy lifestyle. He spends most of his nights in clubs, drinking booze and chasing a new woman each night.
Now I know what you’re saying – “Chris, this sounds great and all, but where the hell does this get sci-fi?” Well, through all of this, Chow is still a writer and the story he’s crafting in private is set in a far off futuristic world called 2046 (pronounced two-zero-four-six), contrary to the popular belief that the title refers to the film taking place in the year 2046, which isn’t the case.

In Chow’s story, 2046 is a mysterious place where nothing ever changes and so there is never any loss or sadness. Lost souls often travel there to reunite with loved ones and the common trend is that people who go to 2046 rarely return. However, the story’s main character Tak is returning because somehow (that’s not explained in the story), he lost the woman he loved in 2046 and now must take the long, cold train ride back home. If you’ve ever seen Leiji Matsumoto’s classic anime series “Galaxy Express 999" – that’s what this train to/from 2046 reminds me of, though how it works and whether 2046 is a place on Earth or another planet or another dimension is never explicitly stated in the movie.

Throughout the film’s different sections set in the ‘60s, Chow meets many women and encounters many scenarios that remind him of his own experience with Su Li-Zhen in room 2046 and those experiences inspire the story he’s writing. The story is also how he analyzes and processes many of the emotions he’s feeling and tries to make sense of them all. Characters in the story mirror people in Chow’s life and are often portrayed in the story world by people from his real life.

The beauty of “2046” is that it is one of the best portraits of an artist ever committed to film. This is a film that can be read many different ways and given so many meanings, but to me the most brilliant aspect is the way it weaves Chow’s life into the lives of his characters and how he uses those characters as a way to outwardly express things in his life that he himself is incapable of expressing or even understanding fully. In a way, that’s what makes this movie so purely sci-fi, even when it’s not.

Sci-fi is all about being able to dissect and discuss hot-button issues in a safe, removed environment. Since the dawn of the genre, authors have always used the banner of science fiction to address concepts that would otherwise prove too touchy to address head on – racism, sexism, the effects of capitalism, of oppression, pollution, the ethics of science, etc. 2046 is Chow’s way to dissect the hot-button issue in his life, which ultimately keeps coming back to his would-be affair with Su Li-Zhen, how he chose to deal with that event in his life and how that choice has come to dominate much of what was to come for him.

Conceptually, the film is incredibly dense with many of the characters speaking different languages to each other, further representing the artificial walls that divide us from each other and the obstacles that stand between two people and a potential relationship. The story cuts between different periods in time, different cities and different characters who sometimes share traits with other people in Chow’s past that draw him to them. Through it all, the common theme that arises is the idea that people often experience events in their lives that stay with them forever and mold who they become from that point on, whether directly or indirectly, and that attempting to dwell on those moments and live in them forever only invites sorrow, loneliness and pain into one’s life.

Though I’m just as much a sucker for huge CGI explosions and high-octane gobbledygook as the next guy, it’s rare that I discover a movie that delivers that same “wow factor” in the form of good, old fashioned storytelling. To me, the goal of any great sci-fi is to make your mind wander, to make you think about things that you might have never considered and to present things you’ve already considered in a new and amazing light. That’s the feeling I get from “2046”. It makes me think about the nature of human relationships - how we use people for our own needs, how we can stare at something every day of our lives and never actually see what’s there until we experience something seemingly unrelated that makes us reevaluate it. It makes me ponder how we go through our lives re-inflicting ourselves with the same trauma again and again, subconsciously punishing ourselves for the choices we’ve made, the paths we’ve taken, the mistakes we can identify in hindsight.

With all that said, you’ll still probably have to watch this movie two or three times before you really start to get it. There’s a lot to take in and you’ll want to consume it all, which will unfortunately prevent you from really grasping all the film has to offer on the first go.

Visually, this is one of the most beautiful films ever made. Each shot is a work of art, full of vibrant color, deep shadow and intriguing composition thanks to Wong Kar-Wai’s long time collaborator, the brilliant cinematographer Christopher Doyle. Fans of “Blade Runner” will surely be in awe of the mood this movie sets with its visual style alone. The costumes are amazing, the settings feel gritty and stylized all at once and the soundtrack only adds to the spooky, lonesome quality of the character’s personal and fictitious journey.

“2046” is truly an amazing film that reveals more and more with each viewing and though it’s not strictly sci-fi from start to finish, it uses the genre more effectively than most films we deem sci-fi these days. It’s likely that you will have a completely different interpretation of the film than I have, which is something else I love about it. It’s a film that forces you to draw the connections yourself and determine their significance through metaphor or poetry. It’s a challenging movie to grasp, but ultimately a very rewarding one as well. In my book, it’s one of the most profound sci-fi films of all time, worthy of standing next to “Blade Runner” or “2001: A Space Odyssey”…and there ain’t a gun, spaceship or explosion to be found.