Chungking Express

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Anakin L Apr 6, 2019 Chungking was a spontaneous project developed by the team of Wong Kar-wai during principal photography of Ashes of Time. While waiting for some equipment to arrive, they had free weeks and decided to fill it with another project â" a kind of movie that students make, as it was described by the director. The film has been shot in just 3 weeks and became an example of work on the incomplete script. Provided the screenplay was a formality, the things depended a lot on the actors being able to improvise or come up with ideas on how to play their roles. Also, Chungking Express was very dependent on Christopher Doyle's cinematography who had to handle lights and colours in a totally new way to give a fresh glimpse into Hong Kong reality and daylight. All the scenes were shot during the day time in the overpopulated parts of Hong Kong. We would see the protagonists during the afternoon just a few times. Doyle was trying to make it in a way of creating an emotional response to daily life in crowded Hong Kong where people collide, fall in love, suffer heartbreaks and dream. The colours of Chungking express and its light have created an unmistakably famous image of Kar-wai's style. Chungking Express was initially supposed to consist of three stories, but director ended up shooting just two of them due to lack of budget and time. It was an experiment of telling different stories with unrelated plots in one film. Yet there are some similarities in these stories: both of them concern young Hong Kong policemen dealing with a breakup and hoping to fall in love happily again. The young men wander around the district of Hong Kong where Chungking cafe or express is, and we observe different emotional moments from their lives. The connection between the stories is an emotional, romantic, atmospheric thing. Chungking express is pretty sketchy, it doesn't focus on the narrative part but employes many methods to emphasize the romantic mood of characters â" the mood for love which is going to be developed and polished by Wong Kar-wai later works. It is a very unusual film for the Hong Kong industry, something completely different from what had been produced there in the last decades. This is one of the main reasons why it was Chunking Express which became a moment of the international breakthrough for Wong Kar-wai and not elaborate Ashes of Time which took such a long time to shoot and edit. See more

Poe S Mar 24, 2019 Gorgeous. I spend my life looking for this film's vibe in the real world.

Ron P Feb 12, 2019 Wong Kar-wai's film of love and lost is beautifully shot and wonderfully written. Even during the focal shift in the narrative, it still flows nicely with its themes. See more

Anakin G Dec 26, 2018 in the mood for love was better. still beauts.

Harry R Nov 6, 2018 This film was solid.

Hagrid G Nov 3, 2018 Gotta to be my favorite movie of all time . From how it is directed , the cast , the location and the background music . Everything is just perfect . See more

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Chungking Express

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