This movie is beautiful. But since I didn't know the exact story(I don't like to read plots) I kept waiting till the and for the policeman 223. Because I liked his story more. It was so sad that I wish it was not left half finished. And again since I didn't know the plot I taught Faye was the blonde haired girl. Which was my mistake. I watched the whole movie saying "How come those girls are same? They might look similar but she is such a high spirited now, besides how dangerous and a bad woman she was at first." Ugh! I think this happened because I wasn't used to Wong Kar Wai's movie style. So should watch again, knowing that this is a very different movie this time.

Taking an incoherent story and bathing it in an orange glow isn't art. I bet if I worked the phones right now I could find someone who has better-looking video of Hong Kong shot off their iPhone.That twerp is a cop like I'm Baretta. Am I supposed to be entertained watching him eat every five minutes?The woman in the wig and sunglasses? Are we supposed to care about her or what she's up to?If this is what passed for a good movie at Cannes in the 90s then the 90s should be packaged into a rocket and shot into space. Book extra seats for the Cannes judges.Just dreadful.

I doubt whether many of you have heard of this film. It is a Hong Kong movie made by and starring Hong Kong Chinese, with English sub-titles. For any of you out there who are tired of the mainstream hogwash churned out by the major Hollywood studios, then I suggest you track down this movie. It will make a very pleasant, entertaining change to your regular movie diet.This film is, in fact, two separate stories about two Hong Kong cops back in the mid 90's who have both been ditched by their long term girlfriends. Doesn't sound like much in the way of story lines, but trust me, they are both fascinating contemporary dramas. The second story, in particular, is full of unpretentiousness, humour, warmth, with just a very small dose of pathos.The humour, in both stories, is so original and funny that it actually had me laughing out loud, and believe me, it takes something very funny for me to do that. (This is not slapstick humour – it is real humour.)The cinematography is truly innovative, and the performances by the ensemble cast of Hong Kong /Chinese actors is absolutely riveting.If you want to see parts of Hong Kong that you probably have never seen before; see how the working classes and the aspiring 'upwardly mobile' classes were living in the 1990's; watch a couple of charming, delightfully endearing and amusing stories without any of the tear- jerking, syrupy drivel that Hollywood rom-coms attempt to drag out of you, then you could do far, far worse than watch Chunking Express.According to IMDb, a dreadful piece of junk like "Angels and Demons" grossed 133 Millon dollars, but Chunking Express only grossed 650 thousand.That's sad, or maybe it's me that has bad taste.

Wong Kar-Wai's most acclaimed and certainly widespread film, helped by showings to film classes everywhere, Chungking Express is a meandering meditation of loneliness in urban Hong Kong. Told in two separate stories of love, life and loneliness (a third branching off into a separate film, Fallen Angel), they follow two cops dealing with a break-up and a new love interest.The first, shorter and weaker segment follows a pineapple-obsessed cop falling for a blonde-wigged heroin smuggler. The second watches a depressed cop's ignorance as a girl with a crush revitalises his life.The first segment is certainly a visual marvel, and Wong Kar-Wai (alongside cinematographers Christopher Doyle & Andrew Lau, the latter of Infernal Affairs fame) blazes through with a frenzy of action in a confined space. The blur, the colours and the contrast are impressive. It's also a poetic segment, but ultimately falls short, emotionally hollow without developed characters to anchor it. One could suppose that your reaction to this segment will depend on your appreciation of the themes and feelings of the main character.One must spend more time considering the second, which more than makes up for the first ones failings. It adds a wry wit to the -better- romantic undertones, two incredibly charismatic leads (Tony Leung and Faye Wong), and one of the best repeated uses of a single song ever. California Dreamin' will forever for me be associated with this film. More importantly, the second part has a heart, a cute, quirky romance that bubbles, and the incredulity ebbs at its sweetness.The soundtrack as a whole is full of excellent choices, though 'full' may over-exaggerate, as it's better seen as a few choice selections being repeated. Nevertheless, through the cinematography and the soundtrack, the film develops a dreamlike atmosphere, which is probably its greatest asset. The film keeps itself firmly uprooted in the clouds, and it certainly drifts.Chungking Express is a unique film, and certainly not one for all occasions. It isn't designed to blow one away. One drifts through it, then thinks about it after its over. As a technical craft, it's a masterpiece. As a poetic piece of storytelling, its a bit more hit and miss, but it hits more than it misses.