...Well, consider:
1. I assume you've watched the film only once.
2. You haven't seen the other two films, which play a role in appreciating 2046.
3. You had expectations of a science fiction film, so you weren't getting exactly what you expected.
...
All three points are correct! I saw this at a dinner party about 10 years ago. A friend who was notoriously secretive, so secretive that none of us knew where he lived suggested that we have a picnic. I was in the car following his car. He stopped by a park, and got out, telling us to wait right there, and walked into the park. We were mystified. He drove off, and we wondered just what the hell was going on. Ten minutes later he came running out of the park, hopped in the car, and said," Drive."
He guided us to a nondescript bungalow on the other side of the park and said, "Let's have the picnic here. In my house." We were flummoxed. So we had the picnic in his living room, and watched a bootleg copy of the as yet unreleased 2046. I really enjoyed it, but maybe it wasn't exactly the movie that was so enjoyable!
You do realize that you might not have watched the correct cut of
2046? Wong Kar-Wai's films go through a development stage during release. Ten years ago was at the time of release.
You seriously need to rethink your take on the film. And the clip I just shared with you? I could go through some key points on it. But first, you should agree to watch it all the way through. Some points:
1. It's Christmas Eve.
2. He takes Wang out to dinner. He is in love with her.
3. Wang is in love with a Japanese man.
4. Wang says some things during dinner which are kind of rude and heartbreaking to him.
5. He offers a means for her to call her boyfriend.
6. He realizes how good he feels for doing this.
7. At 4:04, his eyes look downward, wistfully, and reflects.
8. He's going to tell you the conclusions he has come to.
9. That is a culmination of his prior failed relationships, and the big one, from the earlier film.
10. We see the character from the story he's writing walk away in the train.
11. That character is actually the Japanese Man Wang loves in real life.
12. That character has been rejected by the android in the story Mr. Chow is writing.
13. The android represents Wang
14. The Japanese Man in the story represents Mr. Chow.
15. So the character, and Mr. Chow simultaneously have a revelation.
16. And on the hotel rooftop, we see a still photo of Mr. Chow.
17. This is akin to a nostalgic moment.
18. We see the android look wistfully out the window of the train.
19. She's longing for the man she loves, which in the story is someone else.
20. But in real life, it's analogous to Wang's longing for the Japanese man.
21. And the opera music plays.
22. Wang's father is the fan of opera music, and so the opera music is like Wang's theme.
23. Other characters have different themes for music.
24. And so Mr. Chow reveals to himself that love is all a matter of timing.
25. Wang turns towards the camera, and it's her effective goodbye.
26. This final scene is an echo of Rebecca Pan's goodbye in
Days of Being Wild.
