Chungking Express tells two stories of lovesick cops. The first, reeling from the end of his relationship, keeps buying canned pineapples that expire on May 1, the date he has set for when his relationship truly is over and that his girlfriend is not coming back. The second cop, also lonely from the end of a relationship, falls for the eccentric waitress working at the food stand where he eat lunch everyday.
I saw the movie after hearing much hype, and it wasn't quite what I was expecting. It's hard to say the film weaves the stories together, because it really doesn't. Both plots follow lonely cops, but the fact that they're cops isn't that important to either plot. This isn't a crime drama. The only real connection between the stories is that both officers regularly visit the same dining counter. I generally don't like movies that are a series of tenuously connected vignettes, but for Chungking Express, that tangential connection seems like part of the point. There's a randomness to human connection, to relationships experienced or missed. Pure chance could put you in contact with your love or you might miss the perfect person because events played out every so slightly differently than they might have.
It's an engaging movie, but not for everyone. I'd definitely file it under art house. The camerawork is innovative, and the soundtrack is delightful. The actors do a great job expressing loneliness and longing. I'd rate Chungking 7.5/10, if that was an option. I enjoyed it, odd as some parts of it were, but it didn't feel like the unparalleled masterpiece everyone hyped it up to be.
I saw the movie after hearing much hype, and it wasn't quite what I was expecting. It's hard to say the film weaves the stories together, because it really doesn't. Both plots follow lonely cops, but the fact that they're cops isn't that important to either plot. This isn't a crime drama. The only real connection between the stories is that both officers regularly visit the same dining counter. I generally don't like movies that are a series of tenuously connected vignettes, but for Chungking Express, that tangential connection seems like part of the point. There's a randomness to human connection, to relationships experienced or missed. Pure chance could put you in contact with your love or you might miss the perfect person because events played out every so slightly differently than they might have.
It's an engaging movie, but not for everyone. I'd definitely file it under art house. The camerawork is innovative, and the soundtrack is delightful. The actors do a great job expressing loneliness and longing. I'd rate Chungking 7.5/10, if that was an option. I enjoyed it, odd as some parts of it were, but it didn't feel like the unparalleled masterpiece everyone hyped it up to be.