- Chungking Express stands as one of the finest works of cinema in the 1990s. It is WKW’s greatest work to date in 1994 (it would take one of the greatest films of all time, In the Mood For Love, to outdo it a few years later). Unquestionably, it belongs in discussion with Goodfellas, Breaking the Waves, Pulp Fiction, Boogie Nights and a few others.
- the film was shot in just 23 days, apparently while WKW was on break from shooting Ashes in Time (also 1994)—which is the bigger budget, A-film, epic.
- It begins with the voiceover of Takeshi Kaneshiro (cop 223). WKW is interested in not only love, but a certainly kind of love—a melancholic pervading mood. Both cop 223 and cop 663 (Tony Leung) are getting over their past romances when they run into (this chance is key in WKW’s world) Faye (Faye Wong) and simply the Woman in the Blonde Wig (Brigitte Lin) respectively. WKW is interested in randomness (cop 223’s voice-over noting how close he physically came to both women). He brushes past both female characters. This sort of drunken (or lovesick) prologue features WKW’s genius, dizzying visual style. He uses a handheld camera (with the work of two cinematographers- Christopher Doyle and Andrew Lau Wai-keung), askew angles, rapid editing, tight spaces, and this distinct, shockwave of a wow, fusion of slow and fast motion– I’ll get into that later.
Brigitte Lin and Takeshi Kaneshiro in the first of two stories
- All four actors have voiceovers (passing the baton like Goodfellas does a little before, but so do films that would come after like The Thin Red Line), WKW spends a little more time on the Tony Leung/Faye Wong story (and I think their achievement is a little greater as well) and that is the segment shot by Christopher Doyle.
Cutaways to melancholic poses, often off mirrors, at low or high angles, often at night, holding cigarettes or with a splash of neon from the Hong Kong streets. Cutaways to a clocks as well—all part of the formal cue/editing mix.
- Speaking of formal cues, Chungking Express has WKW’s trademark repeated use of signature songs. The “Things in Life” by Dennis Brown is used 4x- and seems to signify the Brigitte Lin character.
Again, the idea of chance- the two women pass on the street at the 17-minute mark, never to meet. At the 18-minute mark Leung shows up, but it is another 20+ minutes before we are even aware he is a significant character in the film.
Idiosyncrasies aplenty, the cop 223 Kaneshiro character is obsessed with expiration dates- a stunner of a composition as WKW uses the convenience store as a frame within the frame at the 19-minute mark.
- Much of the prologue, the action sequences, and a few choice moments throughout the film (a few highlights below) spanning both directors of photography, are these distorted, melded-speed sequences. WKW is able to distill the foreground, isolate it, and slow it down to basically a freeze frame, while letting the background fly by at a rapid speed. He’d often do the opposite, with the background in a freeze, and the foreground a whirlwind blur of color and lighting.
the effect is almost a cartoon-like or Caligari-like expressionism
the aesthetic is repeated often
it captures both the film’s undeniable energy and the bewitching sadness
- WKW can make a CD jukebox look luminous, one of the many kaleidoscopic and hypnotic sequences.
- Night shooting, loneliness, the jazzy, almost Blade Runner-like score—Frankie Chan & Roel A. Garcia – a brilliant piece of music here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEjZupA1Qkw
a kaleidoscope, or prismatic
canted angles
the film has inspired a generation (probably more than one now) of filmmakers from ‘Barry Jenkins to Xavier Dolan
- Around the 40-minute mark (it is roughly 100 minutes long overall) the new story starts and we get the third and ultimately the fourth narrator. This is a significant film in the history of bifurcated efforts (Full Metal Jacket is another in 1987, Waves seems like a very significant film here in 2019 as well). I am certainly not surprised it is not a 50/50 split with the two stories in Chungking Express. WKW is not exacting, he is not Kubrick or Wes Anderson- there is a great deal of improvisation here- closer to the early French New Wave auteurs. From DP Christopher Doyle, “We shot it fast and in a way that has a big energy to it. It was ad hoc and improvised in many situations. We were shooting in the middle of the busiest part of Hong Kong.” https://www2.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/interviews/christopher-doyle-shooting-chungking-express
- Faye’s theme- “California Dreamin” by The Mamas & The Papas is used 6X, I believe WKW tells the stories about the cops, but the music (at least the two pop songs used most heavily) are tied to the women. Some of the seminal moments from the film simply capture Faye Wong dancing. It is a special performance. Leung’s achievement is on the same level. The scene where he comes by and asks her out (the owner of the snack bar calls him a “smooth operator”) is a movie-star moment. He’s Cary Grant or Clark Gable.
- It is impossible to do it justice it in a screenshot- but at the 56-minute mark WKW achieves one of the great shots/scenes of the decade. In the foreground there are the passing pedestrians on the street. The film stock is sped up for them. The background is capturing Leung and Faye Wong in slow-motion. There is a great piece on that shot here. https://thedissolve.com/features/movie-of-the-week/221-how-wong-kar-wai-turned-22-seconds-into-an-eternit/
both hyper-stylized and understated (two people standing, one drinking coffee)- one of the most important moments in 1990s cinema
- Another blurred blending of speeds segments is at the 89-minute with Leung’s character putting the coin in the jukebox. There is another with the rain in the foreground- with the slow-motion the rain becomes like a fog—immaculate.
the effect of the style is so brilliantly tied to the melancholic mood
- I do wonder if the film is better without the sort of happy ending epilogue, but it is just a question/idea- I wouldn’t want to touch this thing
- A masterpiece
Words can’t describe how much I admire this film. It is such a masterpiece. I just wanted to post something on it, but you’ve done such a thorough and well rounded analysis of it, there really is not much to say. The most distinct visual motif should probably be the contrast between the foreground in slow motion and the background moving faster. It conveys and visualises flawlessly the distance between the quick paced, asthmatic rhythms of the urban environment and the isolation and deep longing for love and connection experienced by the four protagonists. When viewed alongside the kaleidoscopic sequences and tracking shots, excellent use of music, and those glorious neon lights it simply makes for a mesmerising experience. For a period of 15 or so years there was no other filmmaker capable of capturing the loneliness, disillusionment, melancholy and disassociation of the modern and post modern world as poignantly and poetically as Wong Kar Wai. I’d also credit it with influencing Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation (that film is very much Chungking Express meets Michelangelo Antonioni). One of the most breathtaking shots is that of Faye Wong through the yellowish window of the ‘California’ bar, waiting with her weirdly stylish sunglasses on, as the rain falls and people pass her by in fast forward. Chungking Express is a film that blends interconnectedness with disconnection tonally and thematically in such an effortless way. It’s also a film that made the world of cinema fall for California Dreaming (and the Cranberries’ Dreams, for that matter) in an instant. A wonderful piece of art.
@Georg – well said and agree on this page being a terrific well rounded analysis.
I think Chungking Express is one of the essential films for anyone interested in taking their film appreciation to another level as it demonstrates the possibilities of film beyond merely story and plot. Good call, regarding Lost in Translation being Chungking meets Antonioni. With WKW in general there is certainly an element of Godard as well. There is just so much to Chungking, as it has style in spades. You could probably write an entire essay just on its use of color alone and another essay on its use of mood/tone and use of music.
I showed it to my family for a movie club we do every other week where we watch a movie then discuss a couple of days later. It took a little for them to get used to it, as I had to pause a couple of times and explain that they should not get too hung up in trying to follow the plot. But once they got over their fear of “films not driven by plot” they really enjoyed it and it made for a great discussion. Furthermore I think its a great film for bridging people who want to get more into art films or for people who just want to “try something new”.
@Georg– Well said! The entire paragraph here is great- but “The most distinct visual motif should probably be the contrast between the foreground in slow motion and the background moving faster. It conveys and visualises flawlessly the distance between the quick paced, asthmatic rhythms of the urban environment and the isolation and deep longing for love and connection experienced by the four protagonists.”— chef’s kiss!
@Drake – thank you very much! As I said, your breakdown up here is excellent and very all encompassing!
@James Trapp- I think you’re definitely right. Chungking is a very rich film, stylistically (and otherwise). The Godard – WKW comparison is something I come across quite often and I’d say it surely resonates when it comes to approach, filmmaking techniques, editing and improvisation, but in terms of tone and flavour I think there are vast differences, and I don’t think there is any of the well known Godard reflexivity to be found in WKW. But I can definitely see your point, since this is a prime example of independent, creative and unrestricted filmmaking (very Godard). You’re also right about ‘bridging the gap’. For all it’s artistry, there is something vaguely familiar about Chungking. As far as arthouse independent cinema goes, it’s one of the most accessible films out there. It’s a film that resonates with a lot of people, and the light, yet melancholic atmosphere makes for a pleasant but thought provoking watch. People who are dubious about less mainstream, studio bound cinema are (generally) more likely to enjoy this than something like, say In the Mood for Love (a trait also shared with Lost in Translation – I believe that part of Coppola’s film’s cultural resonance has to do with its accessibility as well).
@Georg – I would agree that Chungking is more accessible to people who as you put it are “dubious about less mainstream, studio bound cinema”. I think part of this also has to do with the structure as Chungking can be viewed as a series of vignettes as opposed to In the Mood for Love which is a more cohesive story but takes a little longer to “get into” from the perspective of someone less experienced with arthouse cinema. I love them both almost equally.
I think you’re on point regarding the familiarity with Chungking, I think part of this might be the presence of “western culture” with fast food including McDonalds, pagers, and WKW’s visual style which at times can feel like your watching MTV music videos in the 90s not to mention California Dreamin and other western music. In some ways Cop 223 almost feels like a 1990s American teenager. In the Mood for Love is set in the 60s (although it feels timeless in many ways) but feels much more “eastern” in terms of culture and cultural traditions and thus may not connect as easily for Americans who are relatively newbies to arthouse film.
@James Trapp- – I 100% agree with you here. The music and tone is much more familiar to people better versed in western cinema. I’d also add the voice overs and character perspective structure of the film (kind of like the vignettes you mentioned), which is quite common as far as western cinema and (especially) television go. So all things considered, Chungking is a very accessible film.
@Drake- Venice lineup is announced. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/78th_Venice_International_Film_Festival
@M*A*S*H- So I’ve mentioned this before but the Telluride/Toronto/Venice week is my favorite time of year– every day it seems like a great auteur debuts a new film- sometimes two or three. I’ll take that over awards season or the Oscars any day. Almodóvar, Schrader, Sorrentino, Ridley Scott, Edgar Wright, Villeneuve
I’ve seen you mention before that Goodfellas is often the film you let play in the background while you do other stuff. Well, this is mine. I would still need subtitles if I needed to understand every line perfectly, but it isn’t hard to pick up on the emotional cues through the music, visuals, and sound design anyway. Such a gorgeous film.
@Declan – I totally get that!
Great review! The “distorted, melded-speed sequences” of which you speak are achieved by a technique more specifically called step printing, in which each frame of a sequence is printed into the filmstrip multiple times. Instead of twenty-four different images per second, you’re seeing only a few (I do not know the exact number in this case). This creates a unique, choppy effect, which is complemented by a slow camera shutter speed that exaggerates cinematic motion blur. Each frame can be duplicated fewer times to create a fast motion effect, more for a slow motion feel, or something in between for a regular speed (yet still distorted) sequence.
The technique has been utilized many times before and since Chungking Express, but Wong mastered it so magnificently as to render the majority of successive usages as insignificant copycats.
[…] Chungking Express – WKW […]