wong-kar-wai-films

"Don't compare yourself with others, I didn't know I was poor before, 'till I found out I didn't have a new uniform every year, but all my classmates had."

"As I recall, that's the very last time we saw each other."

"In love you can't bring on a substitute."

"When the Peony blooms, she stands tall. Does she mean no or yes?"

"Do you remember you asked me if there was anything I wouldn't lend? I've given it a lot of thought and now I know there is one thing I'll never lend to anyone."

"Love is all a matter of timing."

"I slowly began to doubt myself."

"Why can't it be like before? Please don't go. Stay with me tonight. Let me borrow you."

"I once fell in love with someone. After a while she was gone. I couldn't stop wondering if she loved me or not. I went to 2046 hoping to find her there. But I never found her."

"I want to know how you feel. I'm scared to hear your answer but, I need to know. Do you like me? Or not. Leave with me."

"Let's see each other again. Then, if you think we shouldn't be together, tell me so frankly... That day, six years ago, a rainbow appeared in my heart. It's still there, like a flame burning inside me. But what are your real feelings for me? Are they like a rainbow after the rain? Or did that rainbow fade away long ago?..."

"Do you know what people did in the old days when they had secrets they didn't want to share? They'd climb a mountain, find a tree, carve a hole in it, whisper the secret into the hole and cover it up with mud. That way, nobody else would ever learn the secret..."

"Our cabin attendants are superbly designed... But there's only one problem : when they've served on so many long journeys, fatigue begins to set it. For example, they might want to laugh, but the smile would be slow to come. They might want to cry, but the tear wouldn't well up till the next day..."

"I've heard that there's a kind of bird without legs that can only fly and fly, and sleep in the wind when it is tired. The bird only lands once in its life... that's when it dies."

"I used to think there was a kind of bird that, once born, would keep flying until death. The fact is that the bird hasn't gone anywhere. It was dead from the beginning."

"I always thought one minute flies by. But sometimes it really lingers on. Once, a person pointed at his watch and said to me, that because of that minute, he'd always remember me. It was so charming listening to that. But now I look at my watch and tell myself that I have to forget this man starting this very minute."

"We're all unlucky in love sometimes. When I am, I go jogging. The body loses water when you jog, so you have none left for tears."

"We split up on April Fool's Day. So I decided to let the joke run for a month. Every day I buy a can of pineapple with a sell-by date of May 1. May loves pineapple, and May 1 is my birthday. If May hasn't changed her mind by the time I've bought thirty cans, then our love will also expire."

"Somehow everything comes with an expiry date. Swordfish expires. Meat sauce expires. Even cling-film expires. Is there anything in the world which doesn't?"

"If memories could be canned, would they also have expiry dates? If so, I hope they last for centuries."

"In May's eyes, I'm no different from a can of pineapple."

"At the high point of our intimacy, we were just 0.01 cm from each other. I knew nothing about her. Six hours later, she fell in love with another man."

"[calling potential dates] Lulu? This is Qiwu. Want to come out for a drink? You're in bed already? This early? You were asleep? Never mind. Bye. Chieko-san? Guess who? This is Qiwu. That's right. Want to come out for a drink? Your husband? When did you get married? Five years! Has it been that long? You have two kids! You're happy, that's great! Okay, never mind. Is Kong Siu-wai there? This is He Qiwu. We were classmates in grade four. You don't remember? Nothing, goodbye."

"Do you... like pineapple?"

"Since she left, everything in the flat is sad. Everything needed lulling to sleep. [to soap bar] You've lost a lot of weight, you know. You used to be so chubby. Have more confidence in yourself. [to washcloth] You have to stop crying, you know. Where's your strength and absorbency? You're so shabby these days."

"I thought we'd stay together for the long haul, flying like a jumbo jet on a full tank. But we changed course."

"[after he finds out his apartment was flooded] Did I leave the tap running, or is the apartment getting more tearful? I always thought it would cope okay. Didn't expect it to cry so much. When people cry, they can dry their eyes with tissues. But when an apartment cries, it takes a lot to mop it up."

"[to new soap's bar] You mustn't let yourself go. You've gained weight so fast. She may have gone but life goes on. You must stop indulging yourself. [to new towel] You're a real disappointment to me. You've changed so much. You can't just switch personality like this. Her walking out is no excuse. [as it drips] It was such a relief when I saw it crying. It may look different, but it's still true to itself. It's still an emotionally charged towel."

"[after his date failed to meet him in "California" restaurant] Actually she did go to California that evening. But it was the other one."

"[to Faye about previous restaurant's owner] He has great business sense. First he sold me fish and chips, then the whole thing."

"Somehow I've become very cautious. When I put on a raincoat, I put on sunglasses too. Who knows when it will rain, or when it will turn out sunny?"

"Actually, really knowing someone doesn't mean anything. People change. A person may like pineapple today and something else tomorrow."

"[in a letter to Cop 663] Change of flight. Your place cancelled. Here's your key. Bye."

"If my memory of her has an expiration date, let it be 10,000 years.."

"Brigitte Lin – Woman in blonde wig"

"Tony Leung Chiu-Wai – Cop 663"

"Faye Wong – Faye"

"Takeshi Kaneshiro – He Qiwu, nicknamed Ah Wu, Cop 223"

"Valerie Chow – Flight attendant who breaks up with Cop 663"

"Thom Baker – Double-crossing drug dealer"

"Chan Kam-Chuen – Manager of the takeaway restaurant 'Midnight Express'"

"Kwan Lee-na – Richard"

"Wong Chi-Ming – Man"

"Leung Sun – The 2nd May, who works at the 'Midnight Express'"

"Choh Chung-Sing – Man"

"When you don't take "no" for an answer, there is still a chance you'll get what you want."

"I have a secret to tell you. Will you leave with me?"

"Whenever someone asked why I left 2046, I always gave them some vague answer. It was easier."

"I once fell in love with someone. I couldn't stop wondering if she loved me back. I found an android which looked just like her. I hoped she would give me the answer."

"He didn't turn back. It's as if he boarded a very long train headed for a drowsy future through the unfathomable night."