2017-09-14

2046's deleted scenes #1: 'M. Chow quitte 2046'

In this new series of blog entries I want to describe and comment on the various deleted scenes from 2004's '2046'. When I pondered on how to begin this series, I eventually thought to myself: "Why not start at the very end?" So here it is, the alternate ending of 2046. This scene appears on the US DVD by Sony as well as on the French DVD by TF1, albeit in two versions. Let's take a look at the US DVD first.

On the US DVD, the scene is called 'The writer visits the future bar'. There, the whole scene is completely silent. No music, no dialogue whatsoever. The scene consists of one single shot only. First, we see lights from the sci-fi train flash up. The camera pans from right to left, as an android walks into the frame in the same direction. We eventually see Chow from behind, sitting at the future bar, drinking and smoking. As he puts his glass down, he turns around, looking straight into the camera. After several seconds, the shot turns bright and cuts off.



 
On the French TF1 DVD, the scene is called 'M. Chow quitte 2046' ('Mister Chow leaves 2046'). It starts with a black screen. We hear Nat King Cole's 'Christmas Song' and Chow via voiceover: "One who goes to 2046 has only one intention: Recapturing lost memories. Because in 2046 nothing ever changes, they say." Then, the shot from the future bar begins, albeit a bit later than in the version on the US DVD. The android waiter has already entered the frame as the shot begins in the TF1 version. The music and Chow's voiceover continue:  "Nobody knows if that's the case, because no-one has ever come back." Chow turns around. "But me. I want to change." Chow takes a long stare into the camera. And without turning bright, the scene cuts to a zoom-in on the futuristic hole in the wall. Nat King Cole's song continues until the very end.




Let's discuss the scene as it appears on the French DVD. I guess the most apparent thing is the voiceover. It's the same voiceover that accompanies the final shot of the common theatrical version - except for a crucial change. While the theatrical version ends with "...because no-one has ever come back.", the deleted scene adds: "But me. I want to change." His statement is however contradicted by his very presence at the future bar. Maybe that's why he looks at the camera so intensively - so we can actually see his pain.
I have long suspected that the deleted scenes from the TF1 DVD stem from the unfinished version of 2046 which was presented at the Cannes Film Festival in 2004. An article by Tony Rayns from 'Sight and Sound' (2008, No. 18 no. 3) confirms this:
One recurrent voiceover heard in the Cannes version of 2046 had disappeared by the time the film reached release. That version opened and closed with the writer’s reflections on his own relationship with 2046, and the same words also popped up in the middle of the film. They went something like this: “Those who go to 2046 never come back. But I’m the exception. I went to 2046, and I have come back. Because I want to change …”
I once asked Wong Kar-wai why he had rewritten that voiceover, and he told me he did so because he thought the original was too obvious. What he meant, I think, was that his own relationship with his writer character too closely mirrored the writer’s relationship with his Japanese surrogate. He feared that audiences would take the voiceover as an autobiographical mission statement. 2046 felt like some kind of summation of Wong’s themes and motifs. This voiceover gave the whole thing an air of valediction; it suggested a director who was feeling an urgent need to move into entirely new areas. I was reminded of an earlier conversation with Wong in which he wryly commented, “Too many people are ‘doing’ Wong Kar-wai these days, so I have to do something else.”

So what do you think about this alternate ending? Tell me in the comments.

6 comments:

  1. Nice comeback man... :)

    What do you think about that book published by Rizzoli, conversations with WKW and John Powers?

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  2. ...there is also one by Gary Bettinson, The Sensuous Cinema of Wong Kar-wai : Film Poetics and the Aesthetic of Disturbance.

    It's the right kind of critical approach to WKW, as far as I'm concerned, but his points should be made with more critical vigor and with more elaborations.

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    1. Hi mgw! Thank you :)
      I have both the books you mention, but I've only read Bettinson's book completely. I read it a year ago IIRC, so it's been a while. I enjoyed it quite a bit, although I remember that the chapters varied in quality. The one on In The Mood For Love and how it mimicks a detective movie was the one I thought was best. I guess I'll have to revisit that book sometime in the future, I remember too little of it. Do you remember certain points made in the book that stood out for you?

      I received the Rizzoli book two weeks ago and so far, I've only read the chapter on Ashes Of Time and The Grandmaster. My impression so far is that the interviews are certainly enjoyable and the layout is nice (although sometimes it looks a bit thrown-together), but my main criticism is the shallowness of the interviews. We do get some background stories about the creation of the movies, but the actual content of the movies is dealt with only marginally. There are a few great interviews about The Grandmaster in that new book "Wong Kar-Wai: Interviews" that came out in August. Those deal with the historical background of said movie, the historical people that inspired the movie's characters, the different cuts, etc. It'd have been great if the interviews by John Powers would have been equally in-depth, but unfortunately, they aren't.
      Do you have that book also? What's your impression?

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  3. I agree with you about book by Powers.

    But I'm prepared to give them some slack, considering it's published by Skira Rizzoli... specialized and focused more on, let's call 'em, picture-books and visual aspect of the product. But, again, I'm not satisfied even with that; there are way to many collages and, in general, selection of pictures could be much better.

    Also, WKW is to blame too! Apparently, during the creation of the book, he got cold feet and at one point wanted to exit the whole thing, but then changed his mind... And throughout the book he seems little resistant and closed, which is kinda paradoxical considering the situation. Well, at least he's not 'Lynching us', if you know what I mean... wink - wink, nudge - nudge...

    Chris Doyle deserved much better treatment, maybe Powers was little unfair there.


    I got burned couple of times on that Conversations with Filmmakers series (and the books is very expensive) but I will get it eventually.

    Did you see two WKW 'side projects' - as a writer 'See You Tomorrow' and as a producer 'Xuanzang'. Both of them are highly skip-able, in fact, former is a travesty.

    And yeah... Moonlight happened. Interesting WKW-time indeed.


    By the way, your dedication and attentions to details, critical and observational skill, passion and capability to underline everything good about WKW - make Us - other WKW fans, wanna just give up. Or maybe, just say thank you.

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    1. Yeah, you're right about the aesthetic quality of the book by Powers. There's a lot to like, but it could have been better. I can't stop myself from comparing it with the photo books that were released for Happy Together and In The Mood For Love. The Powers book even re-uses one or two collages created for the former book. And while they are beautiful, they don't fit the visual concept and stick out in a bad way. I guess budget and time constraints must have been an issue. Some of the spelling errors also point that way...

      Did WKW also consider exiting the Powers project? In the introduction to his book on In The Mood For Love (part of the BFI Film Classics series), Tony Rayns says that he had also planned an interview book with WKW and that he has hours of interview recordings with him. Apparently, they then had some kind of fallout during the time of the release of Ashes Of Time Redux and the whole thing got cancelled, unfortunately. It's funny to think that WKW also considered abandoning the interview project with Powers.
      What is that you say about the treatment of Doyle in the Powers book? (I haven't read the whole thing yet.)


      Yeah, the Conversations with Filmmakers book is pretty expensive, but I bought the e-book (epub and pdf, no DMR) at Google Play Store for only 20€. I have no idea whether the price is equivalent in your location, but I guess you won't be able to find it cheaper!

      I haven't seen the two movies you mention, but I will certainly look up the trailers. Thanks for bringing those to my attention! - Even if they're skippable, as you say :D

      About Moonlight: I watched that when it was in the cinemas around here and I never even thought about its connections to WKW at that time. But then I saw a video online that correlates scenes from that movie with scenes from WKW's movies:
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66cIeb_nNO4
      I'll have to rewatch Moonlight in the near future! Was the connection with WKW's movies something that was discussed a lot?

      Thank you very much for your appreciation! Actually, I would like to spend much more time with this blog, but time is always limited and so I never know when I will post again. There's a lot of stuff I'd like to do... Some ideas I have: Comparing different cuts of Ashes Of Time, continuing my post about The Razor, looking at how the theme of seeing the "64 Hands" again is portrayed in The Grandmaster's different cuts, analyzing some well-known WKW gimmicks and seeing how they are employed in different movies, ... The list is endless.

      I would feel very honored if you could recommend my blog to fellow WKW fans that you know and spread the word :) And if you know any places (forums, etc.) to discuss WKW movies right now, let me know.

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