Writer/director Wong Kar Wai's selection of the number 2046 to be the title of his latest film was not done arbitrarily. Politically significant, it marks the final year before the expiration of Hong Kong's 50 years of self-regulation that were to follow the former British colony being handed over to mainland China in 1997.

By choosing those ominous digits as the film's title, Wong establishes "2046" as a film about change and loss even before viewers watch the opening scene. He interestingly converts the political into the romantic.

Over the past two decades, Wong, the most celebrated director ever to hail from Hong Kong, has made his mark in the world of cinema with numerous romantic art films. Nothing has changed with "2046." Although it is not technically a sequel to his critically acclaimed 2000 film "In the Mood for Love," Wong definitely takes the motto 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' to heart by bringing back the same character, Chow Mo Wan, played by the same actor, Tony Leung.

A distinct mixture of drama, romance and science fiction, "2046" begins with Chow deciding to relocate from Singapore to Hong Kong during the late '60s. A forlorn writer who has loved and lost, he takes up residence in the Oriental Hotel. While there, Chow begins to write a series of science fiction stories. In them, every so often a mysterious train leaves for the year 2046. Everyone who goes there has the same intention — to recapture their lost memories. However, no one who goes there has ever come back. That is, no one except his protagonist, who has decided to leave 2046 and is taking the long train ride back to existence.

Chow believes he is writing about the future, but really his stories are entirely based on his own personal past. The journey his character is making emulates the tale of his own tumultuous love life.

More than just a far-off year, the significance of 2046 comes from the hotel room adjacent to Chow's, where much of the film takes place. Through his writings, Chow remembers the series of women that he has loved to varying degrees, most of whom inhabited that very room. Among them are a cabaret dancer Lulu (Carina Lau, "Days of Being Wild"), a high-end call girl Bai Ling (Zhang Ziyi, "House of Flying Daggers"), the hotel owner's daughter Wang Jing Wen (Faye Wong, "Hero") and a professional gambler nicknamed the Black Spider, Su Li Zhen (Li Gong, "Eros").

That is about as simplified as the film can get. Not completely chronological, not entirely plot driven, "2046" is an intricate puzzle whose sophistication both works for and against the final product.

This is most true when discussing the sci-fi portion of the film. The futuristic storyline is intriguing as it contrasts nicely with '60s Hong Kong, both in terms of narrative and visual style. However, it at times becomes bothersome due to its unevenness in the film — confusing the audience at first, completely disappearing during the middle and then becoming surprisingly omnipresent towards the end.

But by no means does the confusion end there. Characters can speak Cantonese, Japanese and Mandarin to each other and manage to understand everything perfectly. Much of the motivations and situations are vague and disconnected. Plus, for some unknown reason, Nat King Cole's rendition of "The Christmas Song" is heard no less than three times.

Yet somehow the disorientation helps create part of the appeal of "2046," a movie that provokes a number of questions that are not easily answered. Is it a sequel to "In the Mood for Love"? Kind of. Does it need to be watched more than once to fully grasp? Probably. Does the scattered story mirror the intangibility of fleeting love? Most likely.

The charismatic Leung (who has fittingly been described as the Asian Clark Gable) gives Chow both an allure and a sadness that are equally commanding. Among his loves, the coquettish Zhang stands out as heartbreakingly beguiling. Throw in the film's attention to visual detail and intricate composition, and "2046" becomes entrancing.

It is because of Wong's meticulous attention to detail that many joked that the title referred to the year in which the film would actually be released. Despite their scoffing, it paid off. Although "2046" periodically moves at an excruciatingly sluggish pace, by and large the film succeeds in maintaining the viewer's interest.

A beautifully sad film, "2046" is an imaginative tale of desolation and lost love that reaffirms Wong as a visionary of the silver screen.

Grade: B