Once again, I’m remembering why I get so excited about this whole festival thing. First of all, of course, there are the movies — and I was fortunate enough to see four very good ones this past weekend. But there’s also the fun of chatting with fellow film-lovers while waiting in line, and the pleasure of watching movies in a theater packed full of enthusiastic festival goers. If SIFF is lacking in the concentrated glamor of a festival like Cannes or Sundance (and I’m only guessing here, cuz I’ve never been to either), maybe it’s more fun because it’s got such a casual, community-based flavor. That, and lots of Nutella!

2046: The only bad thing I can say about Wong Kar-wai’s 2046 is that it set such a high standard I can’t imagine anything else I’m going to see surpassing it. As so many critics have noted, the film is visually stunning, both in its historical recreation of the 1960s in Hong Kong (and Singapore) and in its visualization of a science fiction future. Shigeru Umebayashi’s soundtrack is sumptuous and the costuming is absolutely gorgeous. (Fashionistas may find themselves so distracted by the pretty dresses that they will need to watch the film a second time to absorb the plot.) But as dazzling as the surface of this film is, it’s got tremendous emotional depth and complexity.

The acting is uniformly excellent, with Tony Leung delivering a compelling portrait of a ladies’ man who can seduce but not connect. But it is Zhang Ziyi