Chungking ExpressIf there is one city I would say is emblematic of globalization, a hub where people converge and their lives interconnect in a complex matrix, it is Hong Kong. The "fragrant city" has long been a center for importing and exporting, a stopping-off point for global travelers, and a densely populated microcosm of various cultures. It is also a producer of varied films, even those about itself and a slice of the lives of its residents. There are constants in Chungking Express: the Midnight Express food stand is the locale around which the two main plots circle, as is the pervading feeling of heartache our characters endure.
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Watching Chungking Express gives you the feeling of seeing this "real" Hong Kong, between the grit and the grime, as well as the neon lights; but more than that, it is a contemplation on romance. The film is essentially divided into two parts, fairly different in presentation, but both confronting the idea of romance in different ways. The first part deals with a young man on the verge of his twenty-fifth birthday. He is a cop, just as the central male figure in the second story will be, and his name is He Qiwu (Takeshi Kaneshiro). And while Qiwu's troubles over his ex-girlfriend, May, pain him, he attempts to cope with his grief by collecting cans of pineapples, all with an expiration date on his birthday, May 1st. He comments that his girlfriend loved pineapple, and he has vowed to buy a can every day for a month until she returns to him. Needless to say, he finds himself with thirty cans of pineapple about to go bad all at once. And yet when I say "go bad", most people know that things like canned pineapple really don't go bad like that, but the perception of others is that its time has run out, a revelation which becomes a sharper pain for Qiwu when he realizes that his love has also expired. But Qiwu's story isn't even the singular focus of this first story; he shares the spotlight with the unnamed "woman in the blonde wig" (Brigitte Lin), who is immersed deep in the seedier side of Hong Kong, dealing in the drug-smuggling business. Though she has recruited a group of Indians to act as international drug couriers, at some point she loses touch with them, and knows that her life is already in jeopardy when her contact issues her a can of sardines with an ominous expiration date of--you guessed it--May 1st. This is the gritty, grimy side of the city, and like this first part of Chungking Express, it is deprived of romanticized frills. Places like McDonalds and brands like Coke are present not so much as product placement, but in this consumer-saturated world, it is the way of life. Hotel rooms look like hotel rooms, and dimly lit hallways trickle out their life at sixty watts at best. Cinematographer Christopher Doyle evokes a genuine feel of Hong Kong, not one that looks as though set upon a stage. In fact, much of Chungking Express was shot guerrilla-style by filmmaker Wong Kar-wai over the course of twenty-three days in the back alleys and onsite locations we see in the film. Qiwu seems doomed to not get the girl, forced to stand alone and overcome the feeling that he has to depend on a relationship to feel acknowledged. He proclaims proudly in a bar to himself that he will fall in love with the first woman he sees; however, when it turns out to be the woman in the blonde wig, he finds her aloof and distant. When she says she needs to rest, he believes that this is a come on and gets a hotel for them...only, she actually passes out, and he spends all night watching old movies and eating chef's salads. Qiwu's gentlemanly nature wins out, as he generously cleans her shoes while she sleeps with his own tie. But over the course of this night--as he transforms from the lovelorn boy into the wiser man of a quarter century, he learns about his real needs, and how to cope with his sorrow in a meaningful way. Like Qiwu, I've found that jogging can be a positive means of dealing with stress.
Just as one story ends, another begins, as it is with Chungking Express. While the film does not deviate from its authentic view into Hong Kong, romance is not treated as an illusion in the second part of the story; rather, it is the story, but it is a lot less overt all the same. The constants remain and are revisited in this tale, that of the diner, as well as more totemic touches like sunglasses, uniforms, and the locales like the airport, although some details get flip-flopped, giving the impression that one's story isn't going to be so drastically different than another's. The Midnight Express has a new employee; just as the restaurant manager (Chan Kam-Chuen) had tried to get his female employees in the past to date the cops who frequent the location, the newest member, Faye (Faye Wong), is positioned to make a connection with a regular, a cop who is only identified by his badge number, Cop 663 (Tony Leung Chiu-Wai), after his efforts to discover his flight attendant girlfriend's favorite food only result in her leaving him to, as he says, "try other flavors", speaking of other men. Faye shares some elusive qualities with the woman in the blonde wig of the first story--I thought they were the same person when I first saw Chungking Express--but she also carries herself with an indifference and vivacity. Faye struts around at work playing The Mamas & the Papas' "California Dreamin'" too loud, and her overactive imagination and untamed curiosity lead her into precarious situations. Though she gives the brush off to Cop 663, she discovers that she misses his presence when his beat changes. But rather than approach love in a traditional way, she finds more satisfaction in sneaking into his apartment and being around his possessions, which strikes me as a particularly risky endeavor given his profession. Possessions have a special role in this story, especially for Cop 663, who speaks to his belongings like his dish rag as though they were equally depressed about being left by his girlfriend, using them as surrogates for his attempts to cope. Cop 663 is a stoic, who has lost interest in changing his life anymore; he stews in this stagnant brew because he is afraid of getting hurt again. Faye's secret involvement in Cop 663's life becomes more pronounced when she decides to "redecorate" his apartment, swapping out things in his abode for something a little different. It's less likely she's doing this to sabotage his life or merely alter his environs out of a weird sense of humor, as it is an unexpressed need to feel closer to him, her own weird way of trying to ingratiate herself in his world; plus, it does need a woman's touch. But can he really be so oblivious as to not know that his dish rag looks healthier because it is, in fact, not his dish rag? No, but just as Faye suggests about herself, perhaps he too is experiencing a kind of sleepwalking, and the two of them are waking up to each other in a metaphorical sense. In fact, this portion of Chungking Express makes frequent use of not only "California Dreamin'" in the score, but a cover of The Cranberries' "Dreams" (sung by Faye Wong), drawing an important link between dreams and romance. There's a sense that even in a metropolis, one can feel so very lonely, and that is no exception for Chungking Express. How the characters choose to address their romantic needs is the core of the tale which we all know as we love and have loved.
Recommended for: Fans of a fast and lean pair of stories, meditating on romance in different ways, and of the men and women who find themselves occupying that space in one way or another. It is a genuine feeling of experiencing Hong Kong without leaving your couch, and a good reflection on the nature of the heart.
Just as one story ends, another begins, as it is with Chungking Express. While the film does not deviate from its authentic view into Hong Kong, romance is not treated as an illusion in the second part of the story; rather, it is the story, but it is a lot less overt all the same. The constants remain and are revisited in this tale, that of the diner, as well as more totemic touches like sunglasses, uniforms, and the locales like the airport, although some details get flip-flopped, giving the impression that one's story isn't going to be so drastically different than another's. The Midnight Express has a new employee; just as the restaurant manager (Chan Kam-Chuen) had tried to get his female employees in the past to date the cops who frequent the location, the newest member, Faye (Faye Wong), is positioned to make a connection with a regular, a cop who is only identified by his badge number, Cop 663 (Tony Leung Chiu-Wai), after his efforts to discover his flight attendant girlfriend's favorite food only result in her leaving him to, as he says, "try other flavors", speaking of other men. Faye shares some elusive qualities with the woman in the blonde wig of the first story--I thought they were the same person when I first saw Chungking Express--but she also carries herself with an indifference and vivacity. Faye struts around at work playing The Mamas & the Papas' "California Dreamin'" too loud, and her overactive imagination and untamed curiosity lead her into precarious situations. Though she gives the brush off to Cop 663, she discovers that she misses his presence when his beat changes. But rather than approach love in a traditional way, she finds more satisfaction in sneaking into his apartment and being around his possessions, which strikes me as a particularly risky endeavor given his profession. Possessions have a special role in this story, especially for Cop 663, who speaks to his belongings like his dish rag as though they were equally depressed about being left by his girlfriend, using them as surrogates for his attempts to cope. Cop 663 is a stoic, who has lost interest in changing his life anymore; he stews in this stagnant brew because he is afraid of getting hurt again. Faye's secret involvement in Cop 663's life becomes more pronounced when she decides to "redecorate" his apartment, swapping out things in his abode for something a little different. It's less likely she's doing this to sabotage his life or merely alter his environs out of a weird sense of humor, as it is an unexpressed need to feel closer to him, her own weird way of trying to ingratiate herself in his world; plus, it does need a woman's touch. But can he really be so oblivious as to not know that his dish rag looks healthier because it is, in fact, not his dish rag? No, but just as Faye suggests about herself, perhaps he too is experiencing a kind of sleepwalking, and the two of them are waking up to each other in a metaphorical sense. In fact, this portion of Chungking Express makes frequent use of not only "California Dreamin'" in the score, but a cover of The Cranberries' "Dreams" (sung by Faye Wong), drawing an important link between dreams and romance. There's a sense that even in a metropolis, one can feel so very lonely, and that is no exception for Chungking Express. How the characters choose to address their romantic needs is the core of the tale which we all know as we love and have loved.
Recommended for: Fans of a fast and lean pair of stories, meditating on romance in different ways, and of the men and women who find themselves occupying that space in one way or another. It is a genuine feeling of experiencing Hong Kong without leaving your couch, and a good reflection on the nature of the heart.