The characters are all so obsessive, neurotic and downright oddball that the film makes love seem more like a bizarre illness than something to be cherished. "Chungking Express" is all about love, apparently, but I don't think it can rightfully be called a romantic movie. Love through the filter of the movies Reviewed by dr_foreman Vote: 6/10 In my nearly six decades of watching movies I can't remember any of them achieving in 90 minutes or more the truth and emotional power that "Chungking Express" manages to pack into its final 15 seconds. The film offers a look at some of the things going on in the world of motion pictures in the early to mid-90's: international interest in Hong Kong cinema and Asian cinema generally the influence of MTV-inspired film technique a spike in the perennial popularity of romantic comedies audience acceptance of combined stories with fragmented, braided narrative lines ("Chungking Express" was released at about the same time as "Pulp Fiction".)Ħ. This retro ingredient is more than balanced by a prophetic use of abrupt, swooping, convulsive camera movements and step printing: although rooted in the world of MTV, the look of the film anticipates cell phone and You Tube video.ĥ. The only obvious set of time markers is the use of pay telephones, answering services, and pagers. The prospective change of government, something "there" obliquely for my first viewing in 1996, seems to have disappeared as a significant aspect of the movie. Although at the time of release the impending reversion of Hong Kong to mainland control was three years away, the characters do not explicitly mention the subject.
Eighteen years after its initial release the movie does not look terribly dated. The cross currents of rejection and breaking up, with a cast of endearing solipsists searching for companionship and falling in love, albeit one-sidedly and with aching tentativeness, make this the only "date movie" I know of that can work its magic (for me, anyway) when enjoyed alone.Ĥ. Maybe this is a good movie for people about to go on a date to see separately before going out, making this sort of a "pre-date" movie. Even though when I first saw this movie I was dating two women and recall taking one of them to another certifiable "date movie" during this period, I have never seen "Chungking Express" with anyone but myself. A date movie, yes, but a paradoxical one. I'd be interested to find out if I'm the only one who has had this reaction.ģ.
It may account for the many viewings, which are almost like visiting people I simply enjoy being with. Instead the people in the movie – at least the non-criminal ones – are people I have come to like very much, almost as friends. I think I experienced the first viewing without having to filter my impressions through the lens of the celebrity and stardom of the performers. Another comment on repeat viewings: I had never heard of any of the cast or crew of this movie before I saw it. Maybe this ever growing affection for the movie parallels the developing relationship between the characters.Ģ. And it has become stronger with every repeat viewing. This belated second viewing was the one that cast a spell. Fourth: And after seeing it and liking it very much, I pretty much forgot about it until seeing the Criterion DVD in 2011 – fifteen (15) years later. I knew nothing about it before watching it. "Chungking Express" just happened to be the first movie I found. Third: I saw the movie on a hot summer afternoon in 1996, also very much by chance when, while walking home from work, I suddenly wanted to spend a couple of hours in an air conditioned theater. Second: The movie treats the way chance encounters sometimes turn into things of great consequence. First: According to what I have read, it was conceived and completed quickly when the director hit a two-month hiatus in the midst of another project. The movie and my viewing of it make up a set of harmonious coincidences. Some thoughts after a tenth time with "Chungking Express":ġ. One obvious sign of liking a movie is watching it again and again.