Chungking Express
1994 ‘Chung Hing sam lam’ Directed by Wong Kar-Wai
Synopsis
A Hong Kong fast food restaurant acts as the link between two unusual stories of police officers in love in this eccentric, stylish comedy-drama. Director Wong Kar-Wai plays freely with traditional narrative structure, dividing his film into two loosely connected segments. The first centers on a depressed cop struggling to come to terms with a recent break-up. His sad isolation is transformed when he encounters a beautiful, mysterious femme fatale, whose involvement with the criminal underworld proves troublesome for both. The second story explores the odd relationship between a female restaurant worker and another recently jilted police officer. The strange woman decides to regularly clean and redecorate the man's apartment in his absence, allowing the two to form a close intimacy without meeting face to face. Both stories present a beautifully atmospheric look at modern urban life and romance, with its combination of isolation and casual, unexpected meetings.
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Film Number 11 on PinHeadLarry145's 30 Days 30 Countries Film Challenge!
China/Hong Kong, 1994.
Last night there was a light drizzle. It was late. I was eating Chinese food. And then about halfway through, I realized that this would be the perfect time to watch a Wong Kar-Wai film. And the I also realized that Chungking Express was sitting unwatched in my list for the 30 Days 30 Countries Challenge. I guess you could say that this moment was a long time in the making.
I hear that Kar-Wai films have a weird way of sinking in and growing on you after the first viewing. I watched it like 12 hours ago but I still feel like it just finished.…
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I first saw Chunking Express a year or so ago. It was my first Wong Kar-Wai. While I liked it, particularly the second story, I wasn’t blown away. Shortly after that I saw 2046, and fell in love with Wong Kar-Wai. Going through the Days of Being Wild / In the Mood for Love / 2046 trilogy only cemented this emotion. My wife bought the Criterion Blu of Chunking, so, we thought we’d give it a re-watch before further exploring the Wong filmography.
What can I say, I was giddy with happiness. What didn’t impress or move me the first time certainly did on this re-watch. I felt absolutely transfixed.
What I noticed in this viewing was the emphasis on…
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Πριν δύο χρόνια μου είπαν να τη δω λέγοντας μου πως η ταινία είναι εμπειρία ζωής.
Μου ακούστηκε αστείο τότε γιατί δε πίστευα μια ταινία μπορεί να επηρεάσει τόσο κάποιον για να είναι άξια τέτοιου τίτλου.Δύο χρόνια μετά, κανένας ανανάς δεν έληξε, όσα πράγματα έφερε μαζί της η ταινία στη ζωή μου παραμένουν εδώ, και εγώ κάθε φορά που παίρνω αυτό το pineapple tin του Aπριλίου, το πρώτο που θα κάνω είναι να σβήσω την ημερομηνία λήξης. Γιατί αν είναι ψέμα φίλε Cop 223 δε θέλω να τελειώσει ποτέ, συγγνώμη.
Και ναι, i do like pineapple.
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I can't properly review this one yet because I don't even understand what happened in it. Once I see it again, and maybe also listen with a commentary track, it will surely be 5 stars. But first thoughts:
1. The most stunning use of color and light that I have ever seen in a film. There's one scene that starts out blue and then seamlessly shifts into a pink tone. And there's a breathtaking birthday party with yellow candlelight.
2. The best use of popular music I have ever heard in a film (well, as good as anything else, anyway - it's tough to beat Cameron Crowe on this front). Wong knows how to keep the soundtrack quiet and bring…
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I have a very interesting relationship with Wong Kar-Wai’s Chungking Express and I vividly remember my reaction to seeing it for the first time. I sat down, completely aware of the high regard this is being held at, with immensely high expections and while I was in the company with the movie I was honestly underwhelmed. I felt slightly betrayed by what I thought was a fairly shallow film and a feeling of boredom overcame me. I still realized that it was a technical masterpiece and occasionally I was really impressed with the camera work.
So once it ended I started wondering what all the fuss was about. I began by rewatching some of the scenes, in particular the scene…
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If my memory of her has an expiration date, let it be 10,000 years...
98 minutes of pure cinematic bliss, and I can't help but feel an overwhelming amount of emotion and complete astonishment. Wong Kar-Wai submerges his audience into a cinematic world of connection and unity. His themes seem to stay consistent, yet have the ability to tell many different stories. Wong approaches the theme of 'love' with a thoughtfulness that the ability to portray such an emotion is better left in the characters actions, and not in their dialogue. He also furthers this theme by expanding his linear storytelling into multiple characters, which continually has a motif of connection. Seemingly every character portrayed in Wongs films can be…
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Chungking Express is a beautiful, unique experience that basically demands a rewatch. I almost didn't want to review it after this one and only viewing, because my total lack of knowledge regarding the film lead to me being a little distracted by the structure and style of it.
It is hard not to love this film though. I was surprised how much I laughed throughout it, and I was also surprised how quickly I grew attached to these characters and wanted to see them find happiness despite the short amount of time they spent on screen total. Chungking Express is a 100 minute movie split in half by two completely different stories, yet also have connections, both literally and thematically.…
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I've tried to write a review for the last few days , but right now this is the best I can come up with:
I've fallen in love with two things: this film and Faye Wong. I can't decide which one I love more.
Oh, and any movie that uses The Cranberries' Dreams (which is actually a cover here from my new love Faye Wong, but an excellent cover at that) and California Dreamin' deserves at least 3 stars.
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very VERY good early kar-wai
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Film Number 11 on PinHeadLarry145's 30 Days 30 Countries Film Challenge!
China/Hong Kong, 1994.
Last night there was a light drizzle. It was late. I was eating Chinese food. And then about halfway through, I realized that this would be the perfect time to watch a Wong Kar-Wai film. And the I also realized that Chungking Express was sitting unwatched in my list for the 30 Days 30 Countries Challenge. I guess you could say that this moment was a long time in the making.
I hear that Kar-Wai films have a weird way of sinking in and growing on you after the first viewing. I watched it like 12 hours ago but I still feel like it just finished.…
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Film 8 of Kyle's Travel through 30 Countries in 30 Days
Country: Hong Kong
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Chungking Express is a joy to behold. It is divided up into two stories whose connections are barely visible. The first stars love-sick Cop 223 (Takeshi Kaneshiro) who deals with a breakup by eating a months worth of pineapple in a beautifully constructed tale of love and loss. Brigette Lin is also brilliant as the mysterious drug dealer. She wears shades in case its sunny and an anorak in case it rains. In the second story Faye (Faye Wong) falls for Cop 663 (Tony Leung) who's just getting over a break up with an air hostess. Faye is an adorable take away bar assistant who loves listening to California Dreamin' at high volumes. What will Cop 663 think about her breaking into his apartment to secretly decorate though? Wong Kar Wai is renowned for writing his movies as he goes along, and this improvisation keeps it exciting and unpredictable. Christopher Doyle's superb cinematography also drenches the film in effortless style.
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Chungking Express is a beautiful movie. Wong directed this movie the way film was meant to be; a work of art. Coincidence and love are examined second to the cinematography and oil painting look of each shot. One of my favorite movies of all time.
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Νομίζω είναι εκεί που φωνάζουν γιατί δεν ακούν ο ένας τον άλλο απ την μουσική και ο μπάτσος 663 της κάνει νόημα και σκύβει η σουβλατζού και για ένα δευτερόλεπτο η μουσική χαμηλώνει μόνη της.
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Chungking Express is a film about two stories, both about cops falling in love with people they were never meant to meet. The first half is about a couple that couldn't be further from each other, a straight laced, yet utterly pathetically heart broken cop meeting with a completely paranoid heroin smuggler. The second story is a slightly more subtle mismatch, another straight laced pathetically heart broken cop, however one who's simply drifting through life with a lack of care, with the girl being a drifter looking for added spice in her life, in which she finds in the cop.
Why are these two stories combined other than the faint idea of love and setting, well one is destined for…