2046

BLOCK 2 PICTURES

AND

SHANGHAI FILM GROUP CORPORATION

PRESENT

A JET TONE FILMS PRODUCTION

Starring

TONY LEUNG CHIU WAI

GONG LI

FAYE WONG

TAKUYA KIMURA

ZIYI ZHANG

CARINA LAU KA LING

CHANG CHEN

DONG JIE

Special Appearance by

MAGGIE CHEUNG MAN YUK

A WONG KAR WAI FILM

In the year 2046, a vast rail network spans the globe.

A mysterious train leaves for 2046 every once in a while.

Every passenger going to 2046 has the same intention.

They want to recapture lost memories.

Because nothing ever changes in 2046.

Nobody really knows if that's true

because nobody's ever come back.

Except me.

998.

997.

If someone wants to leave 2046,

how long will it take?

Some people get away fairly easily.

Others find that it takes them much longer.

I forget how long I've been on this train.

I'm starting to feel very lonely.

As I recall, many have gone to 2046.

You're the first to come back.

May I ask why you left 2046?

Whenever anyone asked why I left 2046,

I gave them some vague answer.

Before. ..

When people had secrets they didn't want to share,

they'd climb a mountain.

They'd find a tree and carve a hole in it...

and whisper the secret into the hole...

then cover it over with mud.

That way, nobody else would ever discover it.

I once fell in love with someone.

After a while, she wasn't there.

I went to 2046.

I thought she might be waiting for me there.

But I couldn't find her.

I can't stop wondering if she loved me or not.

But I never found out.

Maybe her answer was like a secret...

that no one else would ever know.

ALL MEMORIES ARE TRACES OF TEARS.

Didn't you promise not to come back?

I came to see you.

Why?

I have no prospects here

so I'll see how things are in Hong Kong.

When are you leaving?

The ship sails in two days.

Why are you telling me?

I thought we might go together.

You know nothing about my past, do you?

If you'd rather not tell me, I don't mind.

If you win, I'll join you.

She found an indirect way of rejecting me.

As I recall, that was the very last time we saw each other.

Right after that, I left Singapore.

I got back to Hong Kong at the end of 1966.

It was the time of the riots.

I wasn't sure how long I'd be staying.

So I took a room in a small hotel in Wan Chai.

I wrote columns for the newspapers.

They paid ten dollars per thousand words.

It was pretty tough at first.

As long as I could make ends meet,

it made no difference what kind of stuff! Wrote.

"Diary of the Bazooka Hero."

The new star at Club Luk Kwok is Fei Fei!

A knockout beauty with amazing bazookas!

A smash hit with tit lovers!

Hang on. Of course I'm exaggerating. I can't say her tits are fake, can I?

I soon got used to this kind of life.

I became an expert ladies' man.

Lots of one-night-stands.

But nothing lasts forever anyway.

DECEMBER 24, 1966

Is that really true?

Why would I lie to you?

You really know me?

Weren't you in a show in Singapore in '64?

Yes.

You're Lulu.

I was then.

Not anymore.

What's your name now?

Why should I tell you?

On Christmas Eve, 1966,

I ran into a friend from Singapore in a nightclub.

We'd been rather close.

But that night, she'd apparently forgotten me.

Have we really met before?

How could you forget?

You said I looked like your late boyfriend.

You taught me the cha-cha.

Go on.

You were always dragging me to the casino.

You'd hit a losing streak. You owed a fortune.

My friends and I paid for your passage to Hong Kong.

You talked a lot about your late boyfriend...

a Chinese Filipino from a rich family.

You planned to marry him, but he died young.

You said he was the love of your life.

I shouldn't call up sad memories at this time of year.

But do you remember that Christmas night?

We went drinking.

We talked a lot.

Was she just pretending she'd forgotten me?

I took her back to her hotel. She was dead to the world.

She'd had too much to drink.

So I left quickly.

On my way out, I noticed a very familiar number.

If I hadn't run into her that night, I wouldn't have seen that number.

And/ wouldn't have written 2046.

Can I help you?

Is Miss Lulu in?

Lulu? There's no Miss Lulu here.

There was a Mimi, but she's moved out.

But I was here two days ago. Do you know where she's gone?

No! What do you want with her?

Nothing really.

I have her key. I wanted to return it.

You can give it to me.

Thanks.

You want to rent the room?

I'm just back from abroad.

I don't have my own place yet.

If the room's vacant, I could take a look.

This is just a small hotel,

but our residents are all decent people.

What's your line of work?

I write for newspapers.

Great! A fellow artist!

I haven't always done this.

-I used to be an artist too. —Really?

I took singing lessons in Harbin.

Back then, I was a tenor.

It'll be a pleasure to have you here.

When will you move in? - As soon as possible.

But you can't.

Room 2046 has to be renovated. 2047 is vacant.

Take a look at it.

Never mind.

I'll come back when it's ready.

Why that particular room?

Maybe it's the number.

It has some significance for you?

I'm joking.

Tell you what.

Take a quick look at 2047.

If it's okay, you can move in.

Then switch to 2046 when it's ready.

How about it?

Can I see the room?

Of course! Please.

Once I moved in...

I found out what had happened the night before.

Lulu was stabbed by a jealous boyfriend...

a drummer from the club.

She'd really liked him

and compared him with a bird that could never land.

For all these years...

Lulu has been looking for her legless bird.

Most of her affairs ended badly, but she didn't mind sad endings.

No matter what happened,

at least she was always the leading lady.

Good!

Sure!

Go!

Let's go!

Let's go!

I'll go with you!

Good. I'll go with you!

Sure!

I understand!

You know what I mean? I know. I understand.

I got it!

Can I go?

I can go!

Sure!

I understand!

Got it!

It didn't take long to finish redecorating 2046.

But by then, I was used to 2047.

Sure!

I started hearing a strange voice through the wall.

I thought someone had moved in.

But it was the daughter of the hotel owner, Mr. Wang.