#CHUNGKING EXPRESS ANALYSIS HOW TO#

The cinematography is credited to Andrew Lau and Christopher Doyle, with, as Tony Rayns explains on the commentary track, Lau mostly shooting the first story, and Doyle-whoвЂ™d collaborated tumultuously with Wong before, and would collaborate tumultuously with him again-mostly shooting the second. The two halves donвЂ™t look or feel the same, either. In her liner notes for the Criterion Collection DVD and Blu-ray release of the film, Amy Taubin calls Chungking Express a turning point in WongвЂ™s career, pointing to this moment as вЂњa shift in direction thatвЂ™s actually signaled within the film, when the desultory underworld-revenge narrative fades away and is replaced by a love story.вЂќ ItвЂ™s the last we hear from him-though hardly the last we hear of вЂњCalifornia DreaminвЂ™вЂќ-and from this point forward, Chungking Express becomes a different sort of film, albeit one whose two parts complement each other. About 40 minutes in, Cop 223 brushes by Faye, and over a freeze-frame of the moment, says, вЂњSix hours later, she fell in love with another manвЂќ as The Mamas & The PapasвЂ™ вЂњCalifornia DreaminвЂ™вЂќ takes over the soundtrack. Before long, her observation develops from passive curiosity to active, almost mad, interest.Дespite the similarities between the filmвЂ™s two narratives, Chungking Express is divided unmistakably down the middle. Observing his situation is Faye (Faye Wong), an employee at the Midnight Express food stand that both cops frequent. Later, Chungking Express shifts focus to Cop 663 (Tony Leung Chiu-wai), whose heartbreak comes from the departure of his stewardess girlfriend (Valerie Chow). Wong tells his story in parallel with that of a mysterious woman in a blonde wig (Brigitte Lin), for whom May 1 also has significance: ItвЂ™s the day she needs to complete a major drug-smuggling operation, or face dire consequences. The film first introduces Cop 223 (Takeshi Kaneshiro), who, on the cusp of turning 25 on May 1, pines for contact with the girlfriend whoвЂ™s left him.

Stripped to its barest plot synopsis, Chungking Express tells the story of two Hong Kong policemen who, after unexpectedly getting dumped by their girlfriends, struggle to move on. But itвЂ™s also filled with repetition and reflections, finding unexpected patterns and parallels in the midst of a chaotic urban setting-and with them, the possibility, however faint, that change might be for the better. The film is filled with moments reinforcing the inevitability of change and the irreversibility of time-and how those who refuse to accept this do so at their own peril.

#CHUNGKING EXPRESS ANALYSIS HOW TO#

вЂњItвЂ™s not every day weвЂ™re gonna be the same way,вЂќ Dennis Brown sings on his 1972 reggae hit, вЂњThings In Life.вЂќ вЂњThere must be a change somehow.вЂќ BrownвЂ™s song plays at several moments during the first half of Wong Kar-waiвЂ™s 1994 film Chungking Express, and in many respects, the film is about characters learning how to hear it.

Chungking express analysis