2046 - Love is all a matter of timing
I used to watch films over and over and over. Sometimes twice on the same day. For my film class at UIC, I procured a bootleg copy of Il Conformista on VHS and watched it so much it seemed as if the tape was wearing down. Watching a beautiful film a second, third or even fourth time ... I always find something new in it. I uncover more of the story or I get a new interpretation of its parts depending on my current state of mind.
During the quarantine period of 2020 I have watched a ton of films. I decided my next binge would be Wong Kar-wai films. Binge watching can be challenging since his films tend to be very long. I started my revisit with the film 2046. It’s actually the last of Wong Kar-wai’s 3 film love trilogy. They are “Days of Being Wild”, “In the Mood for Love”, and “2046″. I read somewhere that Wong Kar-wai suggests actually starting with 2046. It’s been a long time since I have seen it ... maybe about 10 years. I remember the first time I watched it ... that time in my life was difficult and already filled with the themes of love, longing and the burden of memory. The movie can be slow moving so I knew I had to really make time to watch it. A glass of wine and the Sunday evening sun setting behind me through my window was the perfect setting.
Watching it now, it’s as if it is completely new to me. The film is even more visually beautiful than I remember. The score seems different to me as well. After 10 years I have changed quite a bit, and my life’s situation is dramatically different now. Wong’s films usually deal with love, longing and the burden of memory... all emotionally disturbing themes. Those themes still ring through. This beautiful film brought back some memories and much insight into my life as it was back when I first viewed it. There are parts that mean more to me now than what it meant the last time. There are parts that resonate and make more sense now than before. There are parts that strangely seem like my very own experiences and memories. I love the repeating emphasis on Christmas Eve ... area 1224-1225, because I really feel that way during that time. And the notion of “Love is all a matter of timing” is something I always believed in and means so much more now... after all this time. I found myself watching this throughout the night, rewinding certain parts to let it sink in.
Memorable films always bring me to a specific time of my life. I use them as a window to my state of mind ... to my past ... and I am able to compare and contrast with my perspective today. A movie’s narrative doesn’t change over time ... but one’s life does. That is why re-watching a beautiful piece like 2046 is so worth it. Maybe I will watch it again another ten years from now. The movie will still be the same, but I know my perspective will be different.
