Chungking Express (Subtitled) > Reviews > Chungking Express

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Liked it
Story	Good
Characters / Performances	Outstanding
Special Effects	Outstanding
Soundtrack	Good

Advantages:	Unique style, nicely told stories .
Disadvantages:	No real connection between both stories offered .

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

The main thing that you'll notice about Chungking Express (which incidentally must challenge for worst translated title ever) is the style. A mirage of flashy effects, beautiful cityscapes and vivid colors, the film is a joy to look at. On one hand, this is great, as it breaks the formula look that seems to dictate the style of some many films. On the other hand it's unfortunate as it can distract away from the stories on offer here, which is a shame, as however nice the film looks, the underlying stories are the most important part.

Chunking Express tells two similar, yet very different stories about love and the losing of it. In the first, Cop 223 (Takeshi Kaneshiro) is getting over the break-up with his girlfriend. He gives himself a month for her to return. If she doesn't in that time, he decides to fall in love with the first woman that he sees. He does this, and it just so happens that the woman he falls in love with (Brigitte Lin) deals in international drug trafficking. In the second story, Cop 633 (Tony Leung) is getting over the break-up from his girlfriend too. He isn't looking for someone else, but the employee of the cafe he visits, Faye (Faye Wong) takes it upon herself to improve his life by sneaking into his apartment when he is out and doing little things for him.

Now, the skill displayed by Kar Wai Wong is to successfully play with our perceptions. A viewer going into the film blind wouldn't be aware of the two story structure, and thus would be expecting the first story to develop in a generic cop falls in love with criminal storyline. That it doesn't makes the film certainly unique, and to some, probably frustrating. The story is never fully developed as it jumps to the next story before any kind of resolutions, or even revealations can occur. What we have here is simply a snapshot of a small period in time, that doesn't really have a beginning or an end, just a middle. Personally I find that this works in the films favor, but how much one enjoys it will hinge heavily on how nicely the viewer likes everything to be wrapped up.

The second story on the other hand does have a resolution, even if it's a somewhat strange one. The entire second story in itself is strange though, even if one can get through how far fetched the concept is. I chose to overlook it as the beauty of the story underneath was worth it, but whether others can do this is another matter. Both Leung and Wong are perfect in their roles, to the point that even though they are completely different, we can see how well they do suit each other. That one person would go so out of their way just to make anothers life a little better without any recognition is a wonderful thing, even if the film itself at times seems to disagree.

On a visual level, you will be hard pushed to find a more stylised film. This is all the more impressive considering most of the locations used aren't particularly interesting in themselves. The skill of Wai Wong is that he can make even the mundane interesting, which in effect is what the film is about as a whole. The stories aren't earth shattering, yet the way they are presented to us makes them feel like they are. The same applies to the sense of visual style within the film. Even the crummiest cafe feels important with the attention to detail that it receives. The uniqueness of the film as a whole is pushed also by the strange soundtrack choices on the film. The characters, despite being Chinese, seem obsessed with western music, and as such this plays a large part in what we are constantly hearing. This is amplified for the second story where 'California Dreamin' by the Mamas and the Papas is played endlessly. Although this does fit nicely with the overall resolution, and in hindsight works well, while viewing it can be at times a little distracting.

Once again I find myself trying to push a foreign (and as usual lately, a Chinese one) onto people who may not have discovered it otherwise. This may in fact be a lost cause, as it seems to be with many foreign films, but the attempt is still worth it if even a few people then become curious about any of the films I write about. Chungking Express is an excellent film that deserves to be seen, although I do question exactly who would like it. It's not an easy film by any means, but that shouldn't put people off, although if they want a stepping stone, In The Mood For Love (also by Kar Wai Wong, and reviewed by me) is a far more accessible film. Overall though, Chungking Express, underneath all of the visual styling does tell two very simple, very beautiful stories, and that's the part that matters.