"2046" might suffer from its episodic structure and incoherent development, but aesthetically, it's by far Wong Kar-Wai's finest achievement. It shares the same sense of longing of "In The Mood for Love", but at the same time, serves in many ways as its polar opposite. Instead of focusing on two characters and the obsessive repetition of the same actions, images, and sounds, this time we explore the personality of four different women through a relatively wider sonic and visual palette. The beauty of platonic love is replaced by a compulsive need for sex and human contact, as if Chow Mo-wan is trying to repress the moral restraint that set him and Su Li-zhen apart. He became some kind of playboy, but still keeps missing all the important trains in his life. He then pours his desires and frustrations into an erotic sci-fi series called "2046", where all the women he met are depicted as "androids".

The film bothers to visually show us the world of Chow's stories, with simple yet highly evocative vintage sci-fi sets and beautiful costumes. After the premise, you would expect the two realities to reflect each others. However, they seemed to belong to two completely different films. I wonder if Wong Kar-Wai had shot those sci-fi scenes for some other purpose and tried to forcefully fit them into an "In The Mood for Love" sequel. Other than sharing the same actors, there is close no relation to events in Chow's life.

Another classic effort from Wong Kar-wai, this time with a touch of sci-fi added to his usually potent mix of romance and strong characters. Tony Leung reprises his role from "In the Mood for Love" (2000) as "Chow mo-wan" who has now returned to Hong Kong to write his book - about a land called "2046". As he writes, he forms relationships of varying degrees of importance with four women but the more he tries to forget his past, the harder it is for him to move on, to escape from the memories of his now late wife. Is that the goal of "2046" - memories never die, never exist - time stands still? Leung handles this emotional tsunami of a film with aplomb, and as usual, there is a wonderfully eclectic soundtrack to keep the sense of confusion working nicely, too. Maybe a touch too long - but still an absorbing piece of cinema from a man who can juggle concepts and characterisations with some considerable skill.