Overview
Chinese Name：重庆森林
English Name： Chungking Express
Other Names: Chung King Sen Lin，Chungking Forest（literally）
Director: Wong Kar-wai王家卫
Screenwriter: Wong Kar-wai王家卫
Starring: Brigitte Lin林青霞，Takeshi Kaneshiro金城武，Tony Leung Chiu-wai梁朝伟，Faye Wong王菲
Release Year：1994
Running time : 98 minutes
Brief Introduction of Chungking Express
Chongking Express（重庆森林） is a romantic crime comedy-drama film produced by Zedong film company. It is directed by Wong Kar Wai and starred Lin Qingxia, Liang Chaowei(also starring in Infernal Affairs), Faye Wong and Takeshi Kaneshiro.
On July 14, 1994, the film was released in Hong Kong. The film tells two love stories: an urban encounter between a lovelorn policeman and a mysterious female killer, and a love story between patrol 663 and a girl working in a fast-food restaurant. In 1995, the film won the best film award and best director award of the 14th Hong Kong Film Awards.
Plot of Chungking Express
Police He Qiwu（Takeshi Kaneshiro） is in lovelorn syndrome. One day, he passes by a blonde woman（Brigitte Lin） in the street， which is a killer. 56 hours later, the two met in a bar and spent the night together. On the morning when Wu’s feeling expired, he received a birthday blessing from the blonde woman: “this moment will never expire. If you want to give it an expiration date, I think it is: 10000 years later.”
A new female recruit（Faye Wong） came to work in the fast-food restaurant frequented by Wu and She fell in love with the police 663（Tony Leung Chiu-wai）. 663’s girlfriend left him, and Fei opened the letter that 663’s girlfriend left in the fast-food restaurant, took the key to 663’s house, and went to his house to quietly change 663’s original life when 663 was away.
Finally one day, she was bumped into by 663 and 663 suddenly felt the return of love. That night, 663 invited Fei to a date, only to learn that Fei had gone to the United States and left a message to meet in a year. A year later, Fei, who had become a stewardess, came back. At this time, 663 was no longer a policeman but a fast-food restaurant owner. When they met, 663 said they could go anywhere with Fei and shall never break up.
Accolades of Chungking Express
| Year | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19 94 | Stockholm International Film Festival | Best Actress (Faye Wong) | win |
| FIPRESCI prize (Wong Kar-Wai) | win | ||
| Bronze Horse: Best Film (Wong Kar-Wai) | nominated | ||
| 19 94 | Golden Horse Awards | Best Actor (Tony Leung Chiu-Wai) | win |
| 19 95 | Hong Kong Film Awards | Best Picture | win |
| Best Director (Wong Kar-wai) | win | ||
| Best Actor (Tony Leung Chiu-Wai) | win | ||
| Best Editing (William Cheung Suk-Ping, Kwong Chi-Leung, Hai Kit-Wai) | win |
Film Review of Chungking Express
Although it’s a film largely about dead time, about characters waiting for something to come along and transform their lives, Chungking Express has a dynamic off-the-cuff feel. It’s the result of Chris Doyle’s brisk hand-held camerawork and the fact that Wong was writing by day and shooting by night – partly in reaction to the highly organised rigout of his previous film, the swordfighting epic Ashes Of Time. ‘I didn’t have a full script, so I didn’t have the time to play – I just had to improvise.’
Guardian
At UCLA last summer, Quentin Tarantino introduced a screening of “Chungking Express” and confessed that while watching it on video, “I just started crying.” He cried not because the movie was sad, he said, but because “I’m just so happy to love a movie this much.” I didn’t have to take out my handkerchief a single time during the film, and I didn’t love it nearly as much as he did, but I know what he meant: This is the kind of movie you’ll relate to if you love film itself, rather than its surface aspects such as story and stars.
Wong’s dreamlike tone and Doyle’s stunning cinematography make this strange love story a joy to watch.
Empire