Chungking Express
ArthouseSchmarthouse

Review by ArthouseSchmarthouse Patron

Chungking Express 1994

★★★★½

Watched 15 Jan 2023

8
DVD

Charmingly chaotic from first to last, Wong Kar-wai's Chungking Express is a breezy, oddly compelling, often laugh-out-loud funny treatise on innocence, obsession, loneliness, heartbreak and connection. Wong is often pigeon-holed as an overly austere filmmaker- largely I suspect on the reputation of In the Mood for Love- but here his filmmaking is as light as air, infused with a winningly goofy sense of humour and a fluid approach to editing and the portrayal of the passage of time. It was made up pretty much made on the fly (it was shot in sequence over 23 days, starting without a finished script) and this lends the film a certain unevenness and roughness in places- the first story in particular could do with a bit of expanding- but in return you get this sort of shimmering, jittering, lightning-in-a-bottle type energy that is really quite remarkable. Also, Chungking has a quite wonderful soundtrack- Wong has a great ear for the perfect melody to suit the material- with the Cantonese cover of The Cranberries' "Dreams" being the highlight for me. But the real star (aside from the four lead actors, all superb) is the naturalistic location filming, the choice of the hectic, rambunctious, sweaty, neon-drenched Chungking Mansions giving the film a unique look and feel and sense of atmosphere that is truly unforgettable. Great stuff.

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