FILM: CHUNGKING EXPRESS
1994, dir. Wong Kar-Wai
The whiplash, double-pronged Chungking Express is one of the defining works of nineties cinema and the film that made filmmaker Wong Kar-Wai an instant icon. Two heartsick Hong Kong cops, both jilted by ex-lovers, cross paths at the Midnight Express take-out restaurant stand, where the ethereal pixie waitress Faye works. Anything goes in this gloriously shot and utterly unexpected charmer, which cemented the sex appeal of its gorgeous stars and forever turned canned pineapple and the Mamas and the Papas’ “California Dreamin’” into tokens of romantic longing. Wong’s international breakthrough introduced new audiences to his rich, sensorial brand of filmmaking, inviting the audience to disappear into and live inside.
