2046

The first thing that struck me about the film 2046 was that it kept switching between Chinese and Japanese. I understand just enough Japanese to know when I'm hearing it, and for a moment I was really confused as the actors hopped from one language to another. It turns out the film takes place in 1960's Hong Kong, and the languages do indeed swirl around between Japanese, Mandarin, and Cantonese.

The language confusion was just the beginning of the dream-like, slightly confusing experience of watching 2046.

Spec fiction fans will understand perfectly when I say that although it is not a sequel, 2046 does share the same fictional universe created by Wong Kar-wai in two of his previous films. It's a little harder to explain how the sci-fi element fits into the picture. 2046 actually looks back in time, yet the reveries of its protagonist are filled with femme-fatale androids and a train which, once boarded, becomes almost impossible to escape.

2046 is a gorgeous film. The cinematography is only matched by the music, which is haunting, appropriate, and so thematic as to become a major part of the storytelling. The acting is also superb. Ziyi Zhang, an actress I've mentioned before (see my review of The Road Home) is involved in one of the more deeply explored liaisons with the leading man, played by Tony Leung Chiu Wai.

2046 wasn't created from a polished Hollywood-style script, in which conflict and character are artfully balanced to take the viewer on a digestible hero's journey. Wong Kar-wai seems to be more interested in creating an atmosphere, a mood linked to time, place, and circumstance, in which the viewer becomes intimately involved with the characters. Almost any element of the film could stand on its own to tell the story- the dialog, the acting, the camera shots, the lush soundtrack. And when all these elements come together, complementing one another, the viewer ends up not just with a film, but with an experience.

The Road Home

A friend loaned us The Road Home (Wo de fu qin mu qin) to watch over the weekend. Spec fiction movie lovers may recognize the film's leading lady, Ziyi Zhang, from her role in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Don't expect any fantastical fighting in The Road Home- this film isn't speculative, but it is extraordinarily well-made and beautiful. Contrast, in color and in motion, makes The Road Home a memorable and emotional experience.

Color: Scenes from the modern day portion of the story, in which an elderly woman mourns her recently deceased husband, were shot in black and white. In contrast, the flashback to the courtship of the woman and her husband, blossom into full-blown, gorgeous color. All the hope, youth, joy, and promise of the woman's life are portrayed by her bright red and pink coats, the striking green ribbons tied at the ends of her pigtails, the red banner she weaves, even the vibrant colors of the birch trees in the beautiful autumn countryside. Color remains an important part of the plot, as red becomes the color that first attracts boy to girl. When the love story ends, the viewer is brought back to the present, brought back to black and white.

Motion: Since I don't speak Mandarin, I watched the film subtitled in English- yet I could have almost watched the flashback portion of the film with the sound and subtitles turned off. Ziyi Zhang portrayed most of her character's longing, hope, despair, and joy by running through the village, running through the woods. Whether to catch a glimpse of her would-be lover, to let him catch a glimpse of her red jacket, to bring him food he might or might not eat, The Road Home told much of its story through the act of running motion. This makes the moments when the protagonist stands still heartbreaking and poignant.

Cinema is moving picture, and director Yimou Zhang combines motion and skillful manipulation of colorful image to turn the story of a village woman into a memorable cinematic experience.