Why do I have my problems with the movies of Wong-Kar-Wai? As always: the pictures he shows are outstanding, the music is hypnotizing, the actors are the who-is-who of contemporary Chinese cinema. But the overall impression is that of a creamy bitter-sweet chocolate-cake. Since "In the mood for love" (for which is "2046" a definitive sequel) Kar-Wai has made only one development: his erotic is sharper, more powerful, but like in the prequel: his male protagonist shows no evolution. He is as passive and dumb as a chestnut on Xmas eve. I'm beginning to fear that Kar-Wai ends up like Soderbergh: every movie is nearly a masterpiece. And i mean really "nearly", but his art-house-aestheticism is way over the top, the story wants to be multi-level and is in fact only confusing. The dialog is as poetical as boring. Leung is (as in "mood") no match for his female partners. This movie is only saved by the beautiful music and the gorgeous female characters. I'm certainly begging that Kar-Wai turns on another genre and let that existentialism of his be, then he could do something "real" outstanding (like Park did with his "oldboy").
Review of 2046
