Wong Kar-wai is undeniably one of the most brilliant, revered, and beloved filmmakers living today. Ever since his first, dreamy film
As Tears Go By in 1988, he has had a loyal following of cineastes who have waited anxiously for every single installment just to be transported yet again into that dreamy, luscious world that only a Wong Kar-wai film can simulate.
While most of his films are about love affairs that never quite blossom and bear fruit, Chungking Express (1994) is not one of them. Perhaps one of his most charming films, Chungking Express is so beloved by Quentin Tarantino that he introduces the film in most available editions with his usual over the top enthusiastically goofy style, claiming that he is madly in love with Faye Wong, a famous singer in Hong Kong and one of the female leads in the film (it is possible that she is the most adorable heroine you will ever see in a romantic comedy, barring even Meg Ryan in her heyday).
For those of you who have not seen Chungking Express, you are in for such a treat. The film, in vintage Wong Kar-wai style, is about two sets of star-crossed lovers. While the first set of lovers, played by Bridget Lin and Takeshi Kaneshiro, go the usual Kar-wai way of moody separation, Faye Wong’s character, called simply ‘Faye’ and her paramour, a cop referred to as ‘Cop 633’ but played by the incredibly charismatic Tony Leung, have a courtship that is uniquely quirky and ridiculously charming.
Cop 633 is recovering from severe heartbreak, his flighty flight attendant girlfriend having left him for another man. He often stops on his beat to eat at a snack bar where Faye has recently started working. As fate would have it, the flight attendant has left a letter and the cop’s keys at the snack bar. The cop refuses to read the letter day after day and as Faye starts to fall in love with him she takes to breaking into his apartment, secretly moving things around and ameliorating his surroundings. I won’t tell you how this thoroughly kooky story ends, but let’s just say, it ends well.
So, as much as I love this film, why am I writing about it now? Well, for everyone who isn’t already at the edge of their seats waiting, Wong Kar-wai is about to release his newest film The Grandmaster – already a hit in China. An epic movie about a famous martial arts master, directed by a giant of cinema – come on all you decision makers at Nepali theatres, how can you resist this one?
Watch trailer