Review of Chungking Express (1994) by Kenneth L — 14 Jun 2010

A curious, somewhat experimental Hong Kong movie. I wouldn't recommend it for everyone, but if you're into this sort of thing, you'll like it. It starts out with one fairly interesting story about a lonely cop played by Takeshi Kaneshiro (House of Flying Daggers) who encounters a mysterious woman.

Just as we think that story is really about to develop, though, the movie suddenly changes to a second story and never goes back to the first one. The second revolves around the relationship between a nice but somewhat obtuse police officer (Tony Leung, Lust, Caution and 2046) and an eccentric waitress (Faye Wong, 2046).

The movie doesn't have much in the way of straightforward plot progression, but there is always something going on. Several visual motifs are repeated, and the song "California Dreamin'" by The Mamas and the Papas is played to death.

The acting is mostly muted and low-key, except for the waitress This is the second movie I have watched by the Hong Kong director Wong Kar Wai, and I noticed something interesting about it in relationship to the other film.

The other one of his I've seen was 2046, which was set in the year 2046 and dealt with several romances, including one between a human and an android. While the two movies were ostensibly very different in their settings and subject matter (contemporary drama vs.

science fiction), Wong's style was so consistent and distinctive that the two movies felt exactly the same. This is not rollicking entertainment, but if you enjoy watching movies as much as I do, you'll probably like it, or at least appreciate its uniqueness.