‎Chungking Express (1994) directed by Wong Kar-wai • Reviews, film + cast • Letterboxd

Chungking Express

1994 ‘重慶森林’ Directed by Wong Kar-wai

What a difference a day makes

Two melancholy Hong Kong policemen fall in love: one with a mysterious female underworld figure, the other with a beautiful and ethereal server at a late-night restaurant he frequents.

Brigitte Lin Tony Leung Chiu-Wai Faye Wong Takeshi Kaneshiro Valerie Chow Piggy Chan Kwan Lee-Na Wong Chi-Ming Leung San Rico Chu Tak-On Lynne Langdon Vickie Eng

102 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by DirkH ★★★★★ 20

I love the stupidity of holding on to what has moved on.

I love the smallness of the biggest emotion we know.

I love the pain that doesn't seem to leave but you know somehow it will.

I love seeing love.

And I love how Wong Kar-Wai manages to capture all of the above and mold it into a piece of visual poetry, instilled with the melancholy, pain, joy, frivolity and promise our species' most powerful four letter word possesses.

Even in isolation, Wong Kar-Wai manages to find love in two completely different tales, that pass within 0,01 cm of each other briefly giving the other a glance of desperate recognition. Chungking Express is about our need for companionship, the…
Review by Jacob ★★★★½ 5

me, after california dreamin' plays for the 400th time: "PLAY IT AGAIN WONG"

Rating: 86/100
Review by brat pitt ★★★★

if a Man came up to me & tried to make conversation by asking "do you like pineapple" 4 times in a row in 4 different languages ... hoo boy i'd be outta there so fast
Review by Brendan Michaels ★★★★★ 7

I always love films about people feeling...lost. It reminds me of who I am. There's this feeling of trying to find a connection to something but there's a struggle as you don't know how to work that connection. That's what I think Wong Kar-Wai pulls off so well with this film. He creates these parallel stories of people who want to connect but are too lost to do anything about it. This is the true work of a master and I can already tell Wong Kar-Wai will be a great director to explore in the future. I kind of adore this movie if you haven't already realized.
Review by Jonathan White ★★★★★ 11

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…
Review by Wes ★★★★★ 29

for my 22nd birthday, i knew i had to watch something that changed everything; myself, my perspective of the world around me, how i view cinema, the kinds of films i only dream of making in terms of quality...few, if any, have rattled me like Chungking Express. its why i found the idea of a rewatch so incredibly daunting. its all so much. i cry at every little thing in this movie. every single time california dreamin plays. when He Qiwu is watching movies in the hotel room with the woman whos asleep. the water stained boarding pass. the way dreams by the cranberries kicks off the ending. i hope every film lover has that special director for them that seems to fundamentally understand you.

anyways, that was corny (but i meant it) and this was just as painful as it was that first summer. but its nice to feel things again for my birthday.

Recent reviews

Review by ﾟ✧(｡♡‿♡｡)･ﾟ✧ ★★★★

this movie made me happy and sad simultaneously
Review by plantwhiteroses ★★★★

thats a lot of salad
Review by emmyinwards ★★★★★

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

I saw In the Mood for Love ages ago, but haven’t seen any of Wong Kar-wai’s work since then. Watching Chungking Express was exciting enough that I think it’s time I start watching a lot more of his work...

There was so much about this that felt new and unique. It was stylized and poetic without trying hard ( ie Wes Anderson lol). I could talk about every scene in the movie - from the insanely good opening, to the closeups of expiration dates, to Faye bouncing along to California Dreaming, to the 2nd officer talking to his soap bar... the creative camera work! The soundtrack!! The whole movie felt beautiful and effortless.

I loved the plot line(s) too. I’m so skeptical of movies about romance, but this felt simple and pure and honest.

I’m very, very excited to see more from Wong Kar-wai. The bar is set high.
Review by fernanda ★★★★★

"Actually, really knowing someone doesn't mean anything. People change. "

this film made me even more excited to watch wong kar-wai's filmography.
Review by Samcrom ★★★★★

Watching Chungking Express is feeling what its like to fall in love.

One moment you're just watching it and then all the sudden you're experiencing it.
Review by cheesepuffs3000 ★★★★

good stuff , second half was better
Review by allison ★★★★★

he really ate all that pineapple huh
Review by Pipo Budiono ★★★★½

🖤
Review by Mark Dunn ★★★★

What a lush movie. The cinematography is so rich and intricate that there were several times that blew me away. The soundtrack is so eclectic but absolute nails the mood... plus California Dreaming is seared into my brain in the best way. This is my first film from Wong Kar-wai, and now I am very excited to catch up on his others