Chungking Express

Name: Chungking Express
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Romance
Released: March 8, 1996
Duration: 102 min
Rating: 78
Cast: Brigitte Lin, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Tony Leung Chiu Wai

1996

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 18 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Universal acclaim based on 85 Ratings

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8.3

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8.3	User Score Universal acclaim based on 85 Ratings

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Movie Details & Credits

Miramax Films | Release Date: March 8, 1996 | PG-13

Starring: Brigitte Lin, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Tony Leung Chiu Wai

Summary: Wong Kar-Wai's movie about two love-struck cops is filmed in impressionistic splashes of motion and color. The first half deals with Cop 223, who has broken up with his girlfriend of five years. He purchases a tin of pineapples with an expiration date of May 1 each day for a month. By the end of that time, he feels that he will either beWong Kar-Wai's movie about two love-struck cops is filmed in impressionistic splashes of motion and color. The first half deals with Cop 223, who has broken up with his girlfriend of five years. He purchases a tin of pineapples with an expiration date of May 1 each day for a month. By the end of that time, he feels that he will either be rejoined with his love or that it too will have expired forever. The second half shows Cop 663 dealing with his breakup with his flight attendant girlfriend. He talks to his apartment furnishings until he meets a new girl at a local lunch counter.… Expand

Director: Kar Wai Wong

Genre(s): Drama, Mystery, Romance

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 102 min

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Critic Reviews

100

Kevin Thomas

Chungking Express ravishingly, seductively exudes the immediacy of everyday life as its spins its classically timeless tales of love lost and almost regained. Read full review

David Hunter

Hong Kong writer-director Wong Kar-wai's "Chungking Express" is hip and entertaining... Technically, the film is first-rate, while all the principal performers are excellent. [9 June 1995]

Matt Noller

To Wong, love isn't something you can talk about; words are inadequate, empty, inevitably reductive. Love is something you see, sense, feel, and Chungking Express is one of Wong's purest evocations of its excitement and heartbreak. Read full review

Desson Thomson

Despite its fragmentary, seat-of-the-pants plot, Chungking Express abounds with staccato style and frenetic charm. It's the cinematic equivalent of popcorn on a hot stove. There are "jump-cut" shots, freeze frames, stirring (and often beautiful) images and a general sense of boundless energy, all of which capture perfectly the Zeitgeist of Hong Kong society. [15 Mar 1996, p.N43]

Rene Rodriguez

Chungking Express is really a sly and perceptive examination of the effects of urban alienation on romance -- specifically in its scarily dense and overdeveloped setting of dazzling Hong Kong. Chungking Express meanders at times and occasionally annoys (you won't want to listen to California Dreaming ever again), but the movie is all of one mood, and it leaves you craving more. [29 Mar 1996, p.21G]

Christopher Harris

Wong Kar-Wai makes gifted use of a hand-held camera in Chungking Express; little seems to have been shot with anything else. That, linked with a clear taste for chiaroscuro imagery, makes for a fast-paced film that combines visual flair with story lines that are subtle enough to leave the most important things unspoken. [15 Mar 1996]

Mick LaSalle

For all Wong's energy and virtuosity, the relentless stylishness and whimsicality of Chungking Express become irritating. The cast is appealing -- particularly the forlorn young cops. But the velocity of Wong's attack seems out of proportion to the airy, lightweight quality of the stories. Read full review

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User Reviews

Spangle

Oct 14, 2016

A truly sad and depressing film, Wong Kar-wai's Chungking Express is an exploration of loneliness, focused in on two men looking for love in the past in Hong Kong. Showing how one can be distressed and left hurt by looking to the past and waiting for it to change, Chungking Express featuresA truly sad and depressing film, Wong Kar-wai's Chungking Express is an exploration of loneliness, focused in on two men looking for love in the past in Hong Kong. Showing how one can be distressed and left hurt by looking to the past and waiting for it to change, Chungking Express features characters that are so incredibly real, the emotion they communicate cannot be ignored.

With incredibly written dialogue, Chungking Express brings its two lonely men to life with lines that absolutely touch your soul. For example, one describes how a girl who wished him a happy birthday will live on in his memories forever, only to then wonder when a memory expires. Lines such as these will overcome inadequacies in the film as a whole, as they transcend the medium. Instead, it makes the experience feel incredibly real and authentic. Wong Kar-wai's film may feel as though it is occurring at a distance from the audience, but lines such as these make the film realize that there is no distance at all. This is not a romance film, rather it is one about lost love and the pain it can cause. As such, it is an incredibly cold film, but not emotionless.

Stylistically, the film uses a ton of hand-held camera, if not solely hand-held. The end result is a kinetic and chaotic experience that highlights the loneliness of its protagonists. As the city and even their lives (as cops) run around hectically, their love life and home life remain empty and filled with solitude. It is always lovely when a director's style matches some element of the film and offers its own thematic elements. This is very much the case with Chungking Express. Additionally, the film is just simply very well shot. Hand-held cameras can be quite nauseating and annoying when noticeable, yet Chungking Express deftly avoids these trappings and instead utilizes the style effectively. Essentially, it is supposed to put you into the scene. The camera does this here, but certainly not always.

A thoroughly melancholy and moving experience, Chungking Express will make you feel its characters loneliness in a very human way that will more than likely break your heart. Both this and In the Mood for Love (the other Wong Kar-Wai film I have seen), both have this quality that make you think they will be a romance film and certainly play out like a romance film should, but they are anything but romance films. Rather, they are explorations of love and what it does to a person once they feel it and how they feel when it is ripped out of their clutches.… Expand

2 of 3 users found this helpful21

ahmedaiman9999

Oct 18, 2018

I never thought that a movie that explores loneliness would end up being one of the most charming feel-good movies I've ever seen! I mean... I was smiling and laughing spontaneously, and that didn't happen to me since I watched Amélie!

(9/10)

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

UncleWillard

Jun 28, 2021

What a winner! I'm so sorry I never got around to seeing this until now. Faye Wong is delightful; truly the Chinese version of the manic pixie dream girl (if you didn't realize it, that's her covering The Cranberries Dreams). She can break in my house any time!

I have to admit the firstWhat a winner! I'm so sorry I never got around to seeing this until now. Faye Wong is delightful; truly the Chinese version of the manic pixie dream girl (if you didn't realize it, that's her covering The Cranberries Dreams). She can break in my house any time!

I have to admit the first story was slow for me and it took me time to follow what the intent was (is it a thriller? or a romantic comedy? or both?), but it really took off in the second half. It hit all the right notes for me and looked sumptuous.… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

Simao

Oct 1, 2020

the way it went from one narrative to a completely different other without us even noticing. genius i think...

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

JLuis_001

Jun 19, 2021

I loved the movie, but a part of me couldn't help but think of Fallen Angels as a kind of Deja Vu, even though I saw it first, after all, the narrative presentation and visuals make them look like twins.

Chungking Express is a compilation of moments that hardly have a coherent or moreI loved the movie, but a part of me couldn't help but think of Fallen Angels as a kind of Deja Vu, even though I saw it first, after all, the narrative presentation and visuals make them look like twins.

Chungking Express is a compilation of moments that hardly have a coherent or more direct storytelling, however what elevates it is the quality of its director to make everything attractive, and above all captivating.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

keanex

Mar 27, 2020

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This is a movie from 1994 and some of the cheesy video effects haven't aged well. The premise of two romances centered around a small food stand is pretty cool, it feels like that it could have been a short series even. It's a quirky film with two comical, almost manga ridiculous interests and it's cool to see stuff that's clearly out of the norm once in a while. I feel that the switch up of stories in the middle of the movie kept it fresh as well. It seems to have held up well even 26 years later.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Broyax

Jan 5, 2019

Je l'avais vu il y a longtemps et j'avais trouvé ça cucul et concon... Avec le temps, en vérité ça ne s'est pas arrangé et ce Chungking sonne bien creux et encore plus bidon qu'auparavant, ses défauts nous sautant au visage de façon extrêmement flagrante... Surtout que seule la moitié duJe l'avais vu il y a longtemps et j'avais trouvé ça cucul et concon... Avec le temps, en vérité ça ne s'est pas arrangé et ce Chungking sonne bien creux et encore plus bidon qu'auparavant, ses défauts nous sautant au visage de façon extrêmement flagrante... Surtout que seule la moitié du film est regardable, à savoir la seconde histoire...

La première histoire se borne à nous faire suivre la Miss "lunettes de soleil" qui tire la gueule et trafique de la poudre avec des immigrés indiens avant de se faire elle-même poursuivre par un jeune premier qu'on met un certain temps à reconnaître... le plus chinois des acteurs japonais, Takeshi Kaneshiro ! c'était encore un débutant à l'époque.

La seconde histoire voit un flic incarné par l'excellent et déjà connu Tony Leung, poursuivi à l'insu de son ignorance par l'employée d'une gargotte qui n'écoute que de la musique de merde. Cette musique pourrie est d'ailleurs répétée à l'envi et quasiment en boucle et vrille bien les nerfs comme il faut... comme un leitmotiv romanesque d'une lourdeur sans commune mesure.

Si ce jeu du chat et de la souris est déjà nettement plus mignon -certains diront poétique ?- vu que le flic déconvenu et plaqué par son hôtesse de l'air parle aux objets- il n'en reste pas moins pataud et trop chiant pour espérer convaincre. Finalement, on a donc une moitié de film totalement ratée et une autre très nunuche qui nous les casse. Quel échec !… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

SEE ALL 9 REVIEWS

18	#18 Best Movie of 1996
45	#45 Most Discussed Movie of 1996
58	#58 Most Shared Movie of 1996