Yes. Last week. Which may make me the absolute last frequenter of this board to see it. I had been avoiding spoilers for years, and I'm glad I did.

A few scattered (spoiler-free) thoughts:

-- I liked the first section (Takeshi Kaneshiro / Brigitte Lin) better than the second (Faye Wong / Tony Leung Chiu-wai). The pacing felt better -- yeah, I know it's Wong Kar-wai, but the energy seemed to flag a bit in the second section. The first was fast-paced enough without losing its contemplative air.

-- Also, wasn't too fond of the ending of the second section.

-- I thought I recognized the actress who played the flight attendant -- Valerie Chow -- but her name doesn't ring a bell. Has she been in anything else?

-- I don't have to hear "California Dreamin'" again for another six years or so.

-- Was there any significance to Tony Leung's and Takeshi Kaneshiro's playing cops? There seemed to be some irony in the first section but it seemed to me that Leung's character could have had any profession. So why cops? Was it trying to say something about Hong Kong's need for law and order? Was it to suggest that Leung's cop was being suffocated in his routine? Hmm.

-- I think my favorite scene, of all of them, was the one in the hotel with the TV on.

-- Overall, I liked it quite a bit, but I expected to -- a lot of buildup, you could say. But I do think IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE is a better movie.

Thoughts?

I love to talk about my fave film of all times, especially to someone who liked the film.

- I liked the second section a lot better (although after many viewings it is becoming 'Sophie's Choice'). The first section is more poignant and the second section is more jubilant to me

SPOILERS along the way

- On the contrary, I loved the ending of the second section. I was praying for them to give eachother another chance.

- The most I have seen Valerie Chow is as a supporting actress.

- I used to like the song but was not very keen on it until CE. I also play it continiously sometimes to relive the good feelings.

- I do not know for sure but to me their profession was not that important (although I love the "uniform" dialogue)

- My favorite scene (s) would be Tony giving Faye a leg massage and sleegin together (although, needless to say by now that I love all the scenes of this film)

- I also agree with you that ITMFL is the better film but Chunging Express has something special, to me that wonderful magic of cinema is at its highest in this film. I connected with it so much so that right after I finish it I started watching it again.

She's had some fairly significant roles, but never a very successful career - but I get the impression she could have been more successful if that's what she wanted (more due to looks than acting ability, perhaps). Some places you may have seen her:

THE BLADE: Temptress that Moses Chan falls for
HERO (Cory Yuen): Temptress that TK falls for
GHOSTLY BUS: Almost a lead role, as Simon Yam's ghostly girlfriend

I thought I remembered her playing against Francis Ng in 9413 too, but a quick fact check suggests that was actually Amanda Lee :)

Put me down as another who likes the poignant first section better than the giddy second half of the movie.

I think the reason the characters are cops is because guys in Hong Kong movies are always cops. I imagine that this was WKW tweaking the genre conventions in HK action movies. He has an action plot, a girl with a gun, two cops, and nothing very "action-y" happens. I think he got the money to shoot it by saying: "Two cops, one played by Tony Leung, one played by Takeshi Kaneshiro. Brigitte Lin is a drug smuggler looking for her stolen stash. Faye Wong is the girlfriend of Tony Leung." I'd sign a check based on that.

Me too. And not just because of the pacing or even the presence in it of Takeshi Kaneshiro (what a cutie pie he is/was in CHUNGKING EXPRESS!) and Brigitte the Great (whose eyes I wish I could have gotten a glimpse of just once in the movie...). Rather, I also think that it has the more evocative and memorable quotes/lines of dialogue along with my very favorite scene in the movie ("Do you like pineapple?" B)).

OTOH, beg to differ with Jessica on the subject of the ending of the second section and, also, whether CHUNGKING EXPRESS or IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE is the better film. With regards to the former: *start of spoilers* I really like the optimistic feel of it along with the mirror image developments which had Little Tony and Faye reversing places behind vs in front of the Midnight Express' counter *end of spoilers*.

As for the latter: Suffice to say -- at least for now! -- that for some reason or other, I have had little compulsion to watch IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE from front to back more than three times (in some four 1/2 years) whereas CHUNGKING EXPRESS is a work which I've felt drawn to view more than 10 times now plus actually find myself appreciating more and more each additional time that I watch the movie.

BTW, Jessica, any particular reason for it having taken you so long before you finally checked out CHUNGKING EXPRESS? If so, why not share? :P

I was lucky enough to see CHUNGKING EXPRESS for the first time, on a big screen in Tampa, Florida; I saw IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE on a big screen, too (in NYC), but I think my first exposure to Wong kar-wai was more, I dunno, eye-opening and for that reason I prize CE over ITMFL. Like Yvonne, I'd re-watch the former more readily than the latter just 'cuz it's more portable and I like "California Dreamin'" (and not just because I'm safe-- if not necessarily warm-- here in LA).

I like both stories equally and images from them are burned to the inside of my eyeballs (I think the second story has prompted me to change my sponges more frequently). No Wong kar-wai film since has knocked me out of my seat as CHUNGKING EXPRESS did a decade or so ago.

I feel much the same way, although my first WKW experiences were both quite memorable: seeing AS TEARS GO BY and ASHES OF TIME, both on the big screen. If I'm forced to pick a favorite from among his films, it always boils down to either ASHES or CHUNGKING EXPRESS, both films that I never tire of no matter how many times I see them.

As to ITMFL, it's certainly a great film, but it's more a film that I admire, whereas CHUNGKING EXPRESS is a film I love.

Dave

Chungking Express is just a pure pop masterpiece for me - I have to watch it every 4 or so months to feel good. Most of WKW's films seem fairly pessimistic, but CE is the exception - it ends on such a perfect hopeful note. There are only a few films that make me feel really well disposed to the human race and this is one of them.

spoilers will be in this post

Yvonne, I don't know why I waited so long. I received the DVD as a birthday present last year but didn't get a decent DVD player until this year, and just . . . saved it. To be fair, there are a number of other movies I've owned for longer than that (ASAKO IN RUBY SHOES, BAYSIDE SHAKEDOWN, HE'S A WOMAN, SHE'S A MAN) that I haven't watched yet either.

spoilers
spoilers
spoilers
spoilers
follow.

As for the ending to the 2nd half . . . part of it may have been that I wasn't as charmed by Faye Wong's character as the movie wanted me to be. The breaking and entering and redecorating, okay; but I actually got mad at her for standing up the cop and taking off for California. I'm sorry, but if you know I'm lonely and mourning an earlier relationship with someone who flies a lot (and you already deleted a message from her), leaving with no explanation other than a "boarding pass" isn't cute and quirky, it's insensitive and self-absorbed, and I'm not going to be all, "Oh, hi!" when you show up out of the blue a year later.

Uh . . . okay, apparently I have a nerve that just got hit.

So, yeah. Whereas my heart ached at the end of ITMFL, I've only thought on two occasions, "Man, that really shouldn't have had a happy ending." The book Lucky Jim was one, and the second story of this film was the other.

It's been ages since I've watched Chungking Express, but I've seen it so many times it still lingers in the memory. Still my favorite Wong Kar-Wai film.

Now, on the first section vs. second section, its hard to say which is better. But the second felt a lot more real and honest to me than the first. The whole pinapple expiration date thing was just a bit silly and not just a bit unrealistic. In fact, I didn't think either Takeshi or Bridgitte Lin, nor their improbable situation, ever struck a real chord. I still enjoyed it, though, and I guess to compare the two I would say the first has the most expressive and memorable images, the second the best story and a quality of emotional involvement. Though the second does have the memorable peeping into strangers apartments from the escalator moments.

ITMFL I admire like a fine art piece, but Chungking Express is a fine novel that I'll return to much more often.

Besides, I have twice the HK movie crush on Faye Wong than I do on Maggie Cheung.

-- Peter

To Jessica: Thanks for obliging and satisfying my curiosity. Am sorry about the circumstances of your watching CHUNGKING EXPRESS and considering the context, I think your reactions (to Faye, the outcome of her CE character's relationship with Little Tony's, etc.) are quite understandable.

Also, should point out that there are a whole bunch of movies which people may assume that I've already seen which I actually have yet to check out. In fact, have sometimes wondered whether to try to start a thread about unviewed classics, etc.; except that I wonder how many people would be willing to come out and divulge what movies they've yet to see (and thereby risk getting hounded by others to go watch them ASAP ;))!

Also, as a retort to Peter Nepstad's

(*Spoiler alert*) Personally, I always found the idea that Little Tony's *cop* character could be so unobservant as to not notice Faye Wong's radically changing his apartment's furnishings -- and even allowing her to drug him -- to be far more, well, silly and unrealistic. (*End of spoiler*)

For the most part though, I've just decided to let such nagging reactions go in favour of sitting back, relaxing and allowing CHUNGKING EXPRESS to weave its movie magic over me. B)

"I wasn't as charmed by Faye Wong's character as the movie wanted me to be"

Maybe its just a male thing - but I can't even begin to fathom someone not completely falling for Faye Wong in this film - every wide eyed stare or dreamy expression sends goose bumps up my arm. True that in real life someone with her behaviour patterns would just be nutty - but in the world of film fantasy she is simply fabulous. That she didn't make another film for years pains me.

I feel exactly the same and I'm a hetero female. This was the first time I have seen Faye and this film led me to even buy her albums. Not only her character but also her physiqué were appealing and came out very natural. I was very suprised to hear that she was extremely cold towards everyone on set since she was so charming and natural in the film.

So happy to see that almost everyone feels the same re:CE.

Jennifer I'm sorry you felt that way and sorry for to hear that this viewing hit a sore spot.


I had no trouble understanding Faye's motives in doing what she did. In fact I felt close to both Tony & Faye characters (and I should considering the fact that I also talk to inanimate objects, love to sing and dance when alone etc.) I was so cought up with the film at the first viewing that I was praying that those two would give it a chance (and was extremely happy in the end)

In The Mood for Love is my first WKW film and I saw it on big screen the first time (it is also the only WKW film I saw on big screen). The moment it started I was pulled in, could not and in fact did not want to get out. It is hard for me to describe but I was stunned by its combination of beauty and soul. Every frame, every sound brought me up to a natural high.

CE was the second film and even though I have seen it many many many times over I feel the same bitter sweet sadness, hope and jubilation that I never felt during any other film viewing before or since.

It's Jessica, not Jennifer.

Don't get me wrong: I think Faye Wong was very charming. Heck, I think "Eyes on Me" was charming, when nearly everyone else who's played Final Fantasy 8 would probably strangle her for having recorded the song. I very much want to see CHINESE ODYSSEY 2002, and of course 2046, now.

But I can appreciate her gamine performance and still think her character's decision at the end was selfish and off-putting.

I'm for writing your name wrong, Jessica.

I can understand her character's decision very well (also loved what she did right before the final shot) But maybe that is because I'm a selfish person.

I too am happy to chime in on one of my all-time favourite films. I re-watched it a few months back and thought it really held up well -- it didn't look too dated at all.

I always maintain CKE changed my life!
- I had already been going to my local first-run Cantonese cinema but that collage poster just drew me in to see the film in August 1994. I didn't even recognize Brigitte Lin, and I didn't know who Faye Wong was.
- I watched more and more Hong Kong films, and still really love WKW films (and their soundtracks)
- I became really into Faye Wong's music for some years after that
- I took a number years of Cantonese lessons, in varying forms of intensity (but with teh same lack of success!)
- I went to visit Hong Kong, and we made sure to ride the mid-levels escalator and took photos of Midnight Express
- I started to correspond with a lot of other folks interested in CKE, and I am still corresponding with them over 10 years later!

and I could gloat when CKE played at the Toronto film festival the following month ... since I had already seen it.

gushingly
Lisa in Toronto

CHUNGKING EXPRESS changed my life, too. It was the first time I explored beyond John Woo or Jackie Chan at my local Blockbuster and it opened my eyes to vistas beyond compare.

After seeing them before, I had the good fortune to see both IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE and CHUNGKING EXPRESS at a local revival house a coupld of years ago. ITMFL is definitely a film that benefits especially from being seen on a cinema screen. It's such a mood piece that it begs undeserved attention. It's really a "film" that rewards careful attention, because it's the moods of the characters and textures of the costumes and production design that combine to affect the receptive viewer.

CE is dashed off and rather the more extraordinary for it. While I can appreciate the first section of it -- for its casual artistry, the artlessness of Takeshi Kaneshiro's non-performance, and the studied off-handed world weariness of Brigitte Lin -- it's the second section that makes me want to dance naked in the desert.

*** MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW ***

And that's because of Tony Leung. I've often maintained that he has the most soulful eyes I've even seen on film -- the most expressive, the most character revealing. Faye Wong is cute but frustrating in her immaturity, as epitomized by her taking off for California and never confronting Tony. It is selfish and hurtful. Yet when she returns, she's not quite sure how Tony will respond. She doesn't know that he's been pining for her -- he was still stuck on Valerie when they met, yet he could very well have moved on with his life, found another woman on patrol or wherever policemen find mates -- and her final question to him, "Where do you want to go?" is really asking, "Do you want to go anywhere with me, do you forgive me for what I did for you, do we have a future?", and Tony's response, "Wherever you want to take me" speaks volumes.

At least, to me, and it opens up a ray of sunshine and a world of possibilities. Thus the dancing...

I liked the second half of CE better,because Faye Wong's character came off to me as the liveliest and most quirky person in the whole film--even if she was basically a stalker,albeit an offbeat one. Never understood why she didn't capitalize on her winning performance here--she wouldn't do another film until 2000.

I'm with you on that ending,Jessica---to be honest,I really didn't get the ending of the 2nd half--it made no sense to me either. I mean,the woman goes all overboard/out of her way to get Little Tony's character to notice her in the first place--even going so far as to break in his house,and then she all of sudden decides to take off and become a stewardess like his ex? What was all that about? Why couldn't she just flat-out tell the man that she just liked him,straight up? Another thing---I didn't understand why,after discovering her in his house (that was a hilarious scene,though) why he just let that slide like nothing happened--in the real world,he would have called the cops on her in a Detroit minute. The first half was okay--Brigitte's character really livened up the proceedings--actually,now that I think about it,both the female characters came off as a lot interesting than either one of the men. I also thought at the time that both men were acting like women are sometimes purported to act after a breakup--sitting around moping/wondering what the heck happened,and working through the fallout in odd ways--an interesting depiction of gender role reversals,though. Loved Faye Wong's version of the Cranberries' "Dreams" because I liked the song anyway.

Here is what I think about the questions you have asked re:the second half of the film

Ok, Faye likes Tony but she does not really know him that well. She gets into his apartment and finds clues and starts to meddle with his life without him knowing about it. There is a certain (well unhealthy but still) amount fun and excitement in that and although her intentions are benign she interferes in order to prevent him from suffering more but she may also want him just for herself (she deletes the phone message after all and we can not be sure why- for his sake or for hers)

Also she finds out that Tony is content living where he is but she has a dream of going to California - so after she got what she wanted (an offer of a date with him) she thinks it is not fair to either of them to go into a relationship in which she will always wonder what the real California was like. So she gambles and takes off - not knowing if she would find him there the way she left him or not. I think that last scene was brillant since it was full of hope for these two people who are so obviously made for eachother.


She can not tell the man flat out for two reasons - first some people are like that, I can not take the first step either secondly - there is something very attractive about platonic love. She deeply cares for his man and wants to nurture him out of his pain but she is also playful and wants him to play - she throws pieces of a puzzle to him and wants him to complete it.

About him discovering her in his house (these scenes are faves of mine) :
When he sees her of course he understands everything and since he is a very kind person he gives her face (also he likes her) but the real beauty and the important point of that scenes was that they did not make love. They just sleep together in harmony. And if Tony would be a less sensitive person he would make love to her (she would not resist) but he does not. He also is a romantic at heart.

I felt like talked too much, sorry..