Chungking Express

If I was a film maker I would probably direct a film like "Chungking Express" just to satisfy myself as an "artist". Wong Kar-wai was able to direct a film full of eclectic surreal visuals unraveling in the hustle and bustle streets of Hong Kong. 

In the center of the film are 2 identical stories not really related to each other but they happen at the same time frame. 

The first story starts with Cop 223 (Takeshi Kaneshiro) fresh from a breakup from his old flame, he buys a can of Del Monte pineapples everyday with an expiration date of May 1 which is his birthday. Hoping to reunite with his ex girlfriend before the said date, the cans are a sort of symbol hoping for his love to continue before it expires. 

"Do you like pineapples?"

Cop 223's loneliness leads him to a bar where he meets a mysterious blonde woman wearing sunglasses and trench coat (Brigitte Lin). The blonde woman is a drug dealer searching for a group of Indians who disappeared after a botched operation, she tries desperately to search for them even as going far as kidnapping an Indian man's daughter.

She eventually gives up up for the time being and goes to the bar where Cop 223 was hanging out, the blonde woman is approached by Cop 223 who is looking for romance but she appears uninterested. He asks her personal questions ("Do you like pineapples?") but the blonde woman keeps giving bland answers, they eventually rent a room because of drunkenness as Cop 223 leaves the blonde woman in the morning. 

As Cop 223 starts his day  jogging he receives a message from the blonde woman greeting him a Happy Birthday, as we find out the blonde woman continues her criminal ways as she executes a drug kingpin. 

As the day ends Cop 223  visits the snack bar Midnight Express where we meet the waitress Faye (Faye Wong). 

The second story picks up this time with Cop 663 played by (Tony Leung) in a similar situation with the first cop, this time his story is mush more detailed. He is dealing with a breakup with a gorgeous flight attendant (Valerie Chow) until he meets Faye. She secretly falls for him and gets the chance to live his world (by entering his apartment) when the flight attendant leaves with her own key of the apartment they once shared. Faye in between breaks and errands breaks into Cop 663's apartment and redecorates his place without him knowing. 

He eventually finds out of her secret and realizes that Faye has feelings for him, he asks Faye out on a date but she instead flies to California ending the possibility of a relationship that they might have. She returns a year late now a flight attendant herself and finds out that Cop 663 has taken over the Midnight Express and is planning to turn it into a restaurant. He asks her to go the opening of the restaurant but she she declines because she cannot stay long. The film's ending is ambiguous as she gives him a boarding pass supposed to go wherever she goes. 

 I found the film pretty surreal like the characters are living in a dream sequence, Wong is able to show the Hong Kong epicenter as a mix of culture, race, frustrated lovers, loners, misfits and pretty much anything goes in this movie. What I liked about the characters was the fact that they were not taken too seriously, they are lovable loners and losers but at the same time independent and can pretty much handle the whole world by their own until loneliness sets in.

 

The cinematography is like a never ending dream (or nightmare) full of warped sequences and eclectic colors, Wong is able to fuse it through the plot without making it too distracting to the story. I actually didn't know that Hong Kong was that orangey and blue but that is besides the point since this helps in creating a dreamworld that each of the characters inhabit. We also hear Wong's good ear for pop culture as "California Dreamin'" is frequently played in the second story while a reggae song is being played in the first story. The problem I had with the film was that the stories were not given the time needed to give the characters more closure, I actually wanted the film to finish but I guess this is what made the film great in the first place since it left you wanting more. This film proved Wong Kar-wai is not an ordinary director, he focuses on characters that chooses to live at the moment without worrying about tomorrow and that takes guts and vision in the tradition of other greats like Godard and Herzog.  This film is seriously worth the watch.

Grade: A