Year: 1994
Director: Wong Kar-Wai
Language: Cantonese
Country: Hong Kong
Chungking Express is a perfect mix of pop & arthouse. It is everything Quenten Tarantino wishes his films were. Cool, yet intelligent. Deliberately paced, yet vibrant and full of manic energy. I saw In The Mood For Love (2000) and within a few days fell in love with it. This picture made me fall head over heels as soon as the run-time ended. I did not know there were living film-makers this great.
Chungking Express tells two stories; one about a lonely policeman who falls for a mysterious underworld figure, the other about another lonely policeman who falls for a late night server at a restaurant he frequents.
Originally intended as a money-generating quickie for the director’s Jet Tone company, Chungking Express proves an awe-inspiring work of art that has nods to gangster thriller and screwball romance genres. I love the second story most, which stars a Hong Kong pop star named Faye Wong. It is impossible not to have a crush on her as she innocently dances to The Mama and the Papa's California Dreamin. She gives a giddy vibrant feel to the film that resonates quite well.
The policeman and Faye have a chemistry not seen since Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracey in the 40's. Their brief scenes together light up the screen. We feel like we are expriencing an authentic love that is blossoming in front of our eyes. Few pictures show such bliss so well. I can't wait to experience this picture again and again. It brightens my mood like no other films has.
Wong-Kar Wai's Chungking Express (and his In the Mood for Love) have made my top 10. If I was to introduce someone to Asian and/or Arthouse cinema I would show them Chungking before any other. I cannot wait to see the rest of this master's filmography.
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