http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0765120/Wong Kar-Wai (WKW) emerges with his first non-Asian film, with a full-"western" cast and set in the United States. The film itself? As amazing as his previous films. WKW is a master storyteller and a master at using the medium of film to express emotions and tell beautiful stories.
Plot: A young woman travels America after a heartbreak enough to discover herself in the process of seeing other people's lives.
The sub-plots in this film were neatly tied up by the main narrative that went to the story. Each story had an implicit relevance to the main narrative, with a recurring theme of love and love lost. The story was simply wonderful. I am not certain if the dialogue hold much water, because WKW has been a master of "show, don't tell" and I must admit there weren't really any, jaw-dropping strong statements or witty dialogue (Chungking Express is my benchmark for this in WKW films hehehehehehe). Is it a translation flaw? I don't know, but the lack of memorable and strong lines were forgiveable.
Character artistry was also very good. The characters had a certain consistency to them, they weren't flat without being overtly complicated. The protagonist, even if poorly characterised by Norah Jones, was an interesting character in itself. Miss Jones was just too stale for me in terms of acting. Of course, her acting was lifted by the plethora of more amazing actors, so then again, that redeemed it for me (hello, JUDE LAW??? Natalie Portman!!!! Rachel Weisz!!!).
Visuals: I give it 5 out of 5 stars. The camera-work is interesting, especially in the beginning. It has a very experimental vibe, taking a shot wherein the characters and the camera are separated by a glass wall, or showing things from the perspective of a surveillance camera. This outsider perspective is a meta-narrative complementary to the character of Jude Law and how the entire film will fall into place, from the perspective of an observer, learning life's valuable lesson. There's also a certain romanticism that WKW shot America with, setting it in the nicest and most unassuming parts of these cities: New York, Memphis, Las Vegas.
Audio: Like listening to a Norah Jones's soundtrack. It was nice auditory backdrop but it made it too... commercial.
Overall, it was a really super nice film. I had a certain apprehension with one of those east-meets-west cultural projects that could turn out not well (as we are all aware of the bastardization of Asian films by Hollywood). But WKW proves that regardless of cultural orientation, he is still the master of his paintbrush and this one was another marvellous work of art. I must admit it's the the title that got me. And the poster/cover is also pretty as well. Hehehehe.
I had a certain apprehension with one of those east-meets-west cultural projects that could turn out not well (as we are all aware of the bastardization of Asian films by Hollywood). 
