"2046" is a film directed by Wong Kar-wai and is generally considered to be a sequel to Wong Kar-wai's previous films, "Fancy Years" and "The Legend of Ah Fei". The story tells that the writer Zhou Muyun (Liang Chaowei), who lives in room 2047 of the Oriental Hotel, meets several women living in room 2046, including Bai Ling (Zhang Ziyi) and Wang Jingwen (Wang Fei), and makes Zhou Muyun write two fantasy stories under the names of "2046" and "2047".
Part of the plot of this film is inspired by Liu Yihuan's novel The Alcoholic.
In 1966, Zhou Muyun returned to Hong Kong to face the past that he had buried in his head. He met different women, but the emotional trauma he experienced numbed his heart. He blocked countless forgotten memories in his heart and kept no one close. In order to live, he became a writer of pornographic novels. By chance, he moved into Room 2047 and began writing a novel called "2046". In the novel, as long as you catch the train to 2046, people can retrieve lost memories. No one knows if this is true, because no one can ever leave 2046. Until 2046 AD, the mysterious train still ran regularly to 2046...
The total shooting cycle of "2046" is as long as 5 years:
In 1999, Wong Kar-wai began preparations for the filming of "2046".
In 2001, the first cast of the film (Leung Chao-wai, Faye Wong, Maggie Cheung, Cheung Zhen and Takuya Kimura) were identified as stills of the film, but the location was kept secret.
In 2002, the script passed the review of the China Radio, Film and Television Administration, and the film officially began filming in Shanghai in the same year.
In April 2003, due to the suspension of the film schedule of Zhang Ziyi, Leung Chao-wai and Liu Jialing, Wong Kar-wai was busy shooting "Eros" (Gong Li, Zhang Zhen starring; short film). The end-of-year film may not be available until June 2004.
In April 2004, the film was invited to participate in the Cannes Film Festival. In June, a 10-minute film was broadcast at the Shanghai International Film Festival. It was released in Beijing in October.