‘2046 IS NOT A LOVE STORY, IT'S A STORY ABOUT LOVE'
Taking his sweet time
As the long—awaited 2046 arrives amidst rumours as to the cause of its delay, Alistair Harkness talks to WONG KAR-WAI about his, past, present and future.
irst things lirst: the lidinburgh debacle. When
Wong Kar—wai‘s 2046 was pulled from this
summer’s lidinburgh liilm l’estiyal many speculated that the lilm was in serious trouble and the director was engaging in Kubrick-style sell- indulgence. The truth'.’ It shouldn't haye been programmed in the lirst place. ‘Al‘ter (‘annes I told them [the distributorsl we are not going to show the lilm bel'ore we open in (‘hina in October because we won‘t he ready.~ says Wong. ‘1 don't know why they didn't inl'orm the l'estiyal. [1 created bad rumours.'
Sitting in a London hotel room wearing his trademark aviator shades and chain-smoking his way through a pack ol‘ cigarettes. the sol't-spoken director is on damage control. Hardly surprising since the l'ilm’s tumultuous production history has been threatening to oyer-shadow the end product l‘or months. Begun the years ago. scheduling conflicts and the SARS epidemic l'orced him to put the lilm on hold for three years. but rumours persisted that he was shooting continuously during this period. Add to this the dramatic race to screen the unlinished lilm at Cannes. where it receiyed a mixed critical reception. and throw in lidinburgh. and you‘ye got the makings of a (lungs ot.\"¢'u' )in’k—style liasco.
The interest. though. is understandable giyen that 3040 is a sequel to In the .Unm/lin‘ Lure. his elegant l‘)(i(ls-set exploration ot‘ unrequited desire. Not that it started out that way. ‘They were dil‘t‘erent projects but for all kinds ol~ reasons we had to start them at the same time.” says Wong. who soon discm‘ered that working on two projects had its problems. ‘lt's like falling in lose
48 THE LIST (1 Jan
with two women.‘ he chuckles. ‘so I needed to lind a connection.‘ That connection came in the form ol~ the
hotel room that the characters from In the .lIum/lhr
Lure Use to conduct their unconsummated al‘l‘air. ‘The room was 3-(l—sometliing. so I said. “Why don‘t we jtist change it to 2046." l was just making a joke. but from that day the story of 2046 changed a lot and became more related to In the .tlmullhr Lurv.‘
lissentially. then. 3046 is the next chapter. Set three years later Tony l.eung returns as ('how. He‘s still a writer but where he was once a reticent loyer. here. still clinging to memories ol‘ his idealised al‘l‘air with Maggie (‘heung (who makes a fleeting appearance) he has evolved into a playboy. ‘2046 is not a loye story. it‘s a story about low.‘ obsct‘ycs \Vong. ‘Wc want to know what line means to this man. At lirst we think he cannot have what he loved. At the end we realise that maybe he loves what he cannot have.‘
.-\s the enigmatic title suggests the lilm is set partly in the future. 204/) is a place where people can ‘recapture lost memories.” Yet it‘s also the date marking the end of (‘hina‘s 50-year promise not to alter Hong Kong. Wong had to scale back the sci-l'i aspect for budgetary reason. but he insists the metaphorical significance remains intact: 204/) represents a way of keeping something we lose alive alter it's gone. 'We all need a 2046 in our lil‘e.‘ he says. .-\nd what might his ne‘.’ ‘My THUVTCs. liyerything will be captured on celluloid. It‘s not going to change.‘
2046 is on selected release from Fri 14 Jan. See review, opposite.
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THE BEST FILM 8 DVD RELEASES
* 2046 Wong Kai~wai‘s elliptical. haunting low budget sci fi sequel to his 2000 romantic masterpiece In the Mood for Love. Stars Tony Leung. Li Gong and of course the lovely Maggie Cheung. See preview and review. Selected release.
* Team America (pictured) South Park boys Trey Parker and Matt Stone's hilarious marionette superhero satire puts the F back in freedom. Liberals. republicans and Michael Moore beware. See review. General release.
* Vera Drake Mike Leigh's award winning period social drama about a kindly middle aged abortionist in 19503 London who faced arrest and imprisonment for her deeds. Imelda Staunton stars. See review. Selected release.
* Closer Mike The Graduate Nichols big screen version of Patrick Marber's masterly play about the weird shenanigans that go on between two open- minded couples. Stars Jude Law, Natalie Portman. Clive Owen and Julia Roberts. See review. General release.
* A Hole In My Heart Lukas Together Moodysson turns his unblinking gaze to a bunch of amateur pornographers. Not a film that ’3 easy to enjoy. it’s nevertheless one that you won't forget in a hurry. See review. Fi/mhouse, Edinburgh.
* The Aviator Martin Scorsese’s biopic of Howard Hughes is his best work in years. DiCaprio and Cate Blanchett (as Katherine Hepburn) are fantastic. General release.
* Edward Said: The Last Interview Fascinating documentary record of one of the great modern thinkers and polemicists in full flow. GFTI Glasgow (Thu 6 Jan only)
* La Doloe Vita Beautiful new print of the Fellini classic. GFT. Glasgow (7 - 11 Jan only).
* The Four Faces of Bergman Four rare Bergmans in one DVD boix set. Includes The Ftite and Torment. Swedish gold. Tartan Wdeo