Cannes Preview: 2046

One of, if not the most anticipated film at Cannes this year is 2046 -- Wong Kar-Wai's follow-up (and quasi-sequel) to his superb In the Mood for Love. Wong has been working on the film for years now, and during the shooting rumors were flying. Gong Li was apparently brought in late in the game when it became clear that there was no way for Carina Lau to gain the twenty pounds required for the Lady Butterfly role. A running joke amongst the crew was that 2046 was going to be the year the film was finished. Regardless of any rumors or troubles, the film is indeed finished, and is about to have its premiere at Cannes. When Filmbrain met cinematographer Christopher Doyle at the Tribeca Film Festival, he prodded him for info on 2046. Doyle just smiled and said, "You'll know soon enough, but it's great." There's a description of the film on the Cannes website, but it's a bit cryptic. Filmbrain found a better one at my Stuff and News: 2046's story picks up right by the end of In The Mood For Love: after Su Lizhen (Maggie Cheung) leaves, Zhou Muyun (Tony Leung) becomes a very lonely writer. He meets a prostitute (Zhang Ziyi) and spends a night with her at room 2046, the very same room he had an affair with Su Lizhen. Then he starts writing a novel called 2046, in which he reunites with Su Lizhen. Chang Chen and Lau Kar-Ling play a couple of lovers; Faye Wong and Kimura Takuya play a pair of robot lovers. They are all characters in the book, and they are all from the future. Chinese pop star Faye Wong as a robot? That sounds pretty interesting. Though the sad news is that it appears Maggie Cheung has only a small role in the film. Darn! Filmbrain guesses that this won't show up in the states until the fall, where it will most likely be shown at the New York Film Festival.