2046 [35mm]

Director: Wong Kar-wai

2004 / 129min / 35mm

A sort-of sequel to Wong’s Days of Being Wild and In the Mood for Love, the ’60s-set 2046 revisits Tony Leung Chiu-wai’s Chow, now a suave science-fiction writer, to chronicle his various affairs with women (including Faye Wong, Zhang Ziyi, and Gong Li), acting as distractions now that his true love, Mrs. Chen (Maggie Cheung, seen in flashback), has disappeared. Intercutting scenes from Chow’s footloose life—several of these taking place on subsequent Christmas Eves—with scenes from his novel-in-progress, set in the titular year, it’s a film of voluptuous melancholy.

Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics

Part of The Holidays at Metrograph: 2025