What's good about Chungking express? HH

 


Chungking express is definitely different from the Ozu’s movies that we have seen in every way imaginable: the characters, the camera movement, the design and settings, and the music. I would be very interested in talking about this movie because we didn’t have time to talk about it in class at all, but if you could comment your thoughts on the movie – something you like about it, a question, a difference from Ozu that you observe, that’ll be great. I’ll start.

I think the biggest appeal coming from this movie is its unique style. Wang Kar Wai has such a particular aesthetic that once you see it, you can recognize it immediately. In Chungking express, he uses a lot of tilted angles and we cannot deny the fact that the chasing sequences with slightly blurry images, stop-motions, and panic POV are a feast to the sight. The set design also contributes greatly to the seduction of the movie: the nostalgic neon lights, the chaos and liveliness of crowded markets, the lonely late night bars, and so on. This is actually so famous that my high school class has a Wong Kar Wai theme photoshoot for our yearbook lol.

But that’s not the only thing that attracts such a large crowd of fans. The characters are also interesting because of their quirks and personalities. Chungking express also deals with a popular theme – romantic and young loneliness, in a way, this movie is like the pop culture depiction of loneliness. Because these two elements – character and theme, Chungking express is a fun and exciting breeze of wind in the world of cinema, especially if you are bored with American rom-com movies. Compared to Ozu’s movies, the loneliness and the feelings of the characters in Chungking express are more verbal, Ozu tends to just hold the character in one shot and let us feel their loneliness sinking in. I think this is why Chungking express did not make me feel as much and the emotions of the characters leave only a fleeting impression on me. But this can just be a personal taste kinda thing.

Comments

  1. Danping LongDecember 21, 2021 at 2:17 PM

    I think there is a reason why Chungking Express can't be shot in Ozu style. Its central filming location, Chungking Mansions, is known to be a centre of drugs, as well as a refuge for petty criminals, scammers, and illegal immigrants (according to wiki). In Short, it is a slum. People who live there have no names, no family lives, no designated futures. They are excluded from Ozu's cozy family and marriage already and can only live an invisible life, that is, seeking refuge in Chungking Express where no ordinary people would concern. They hold on to Chungking Mansions, just as vagabonds hold on to their places in subway tunnels. I think all the characters in ChungKing Express live in their dreams, which can be revealed by no way other than voice-over narrations. While everything can happen in the character's mind, nothing is happening in Ozu kind of "real life." I think that is why this movie can the version watched and the alternative version telling two completely different stories. In a sense, we still don't know what is really happening for the characters. They are outcasts to Ozu's camera, and they have nothing but dreams.

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  2. Krishnan VenkateshDecember 28, 2021 at 1:43 PM

    Very interesting, both. Ms. Long, I think you're right: fleeting, disconnected, blurry, peripheral filmmaking, for fleeting, disconnected, blurry, peripheral lives. It's about people on the edge of things who are trying to find a center. And it's about deep loneliness and insecurity, but it wears those emotions lightly, not dwelling on them -- because in that world you have to keep moving.

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