{"id":274,"date":"2025-09-07T09:52:10","date_gmt":"2025-09-07T09:52:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.elfsverse.com\/?p=274"},"modified":"2025-09-10T20:13:55","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T20:13:55","slug":"chungking-express","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/elfsverse.com\/?p=274","title":{"rendered":"Chungking Express: Loneliness, Dreams and Feelings"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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\n 4.5\/5 - (4 votes) <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n

This is my very first writing on this blog, so I wanted to make it more special.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some movies make you think\u2014tickling your brain long after the credits roll.
Some movies make you feel\u2014feel the emotions you didn\u2019t even know existed.
Some movies make you laugh, giving you joy while watching, yet leaving you empty afterward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe there is a reason why Chungking Express<\/em> is my favorite movie\u2014why it kept me awake at night, why it never left my mind. Personally, I couldn\u2019t find one. Yet, for me, Chungking Express<\/em> is simply what I call perfect<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The film begins with a mysterious woman in a blonde wig entering an apartment. She is the love interest of our first story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next, we meet a man\u2014Cop 223\u2014running through the city. We soon learn that he has recently broken up with his girlfriend, May. She left him on April 1st, April Fool\u2019s Day, and he keeps hoping it was all a joke.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Since his birthday is on May 1st, he promises himself he\u2019ll wait until that day before letting her go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To mark the days, he buys cans of pineapple that expire on May 1st\u2014because May loved pineapple. But May doesn\u2019t return. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn May\u2019s eyes, I\u2019m no different from a can of pineapple.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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He decides to go to a bar and tells himself he\u2019ll fall in love with the first woman who walks in, and that woman turns out to be the mysterious lady in the blonde wig.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The effect of this story is undeniable: the feeling of being left behind, of being \u201cbetrayed\u201d<\/em> by someone you thought would stay by your side. Yet, May is not to blame, nor is Cop 223.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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But we\u2019re not here to blame anyone. We\u2019re not here to understand completely. We\u2019re here to feel<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This doesn\u2019t necessarily have to be about a partner, a romantic relationship, or a breakup. It\u2019s about the universal feeling of letting go, accepting it, and living with it. And when we talk about emotions in this movie, one feeling always weighs the heaviest: loneliness<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Loneliness is not just a random detail in this story\u2014it is the very essence of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Without a doubt, the most memorable aspect of this movie is its visual storytelling<\/strong>. Wong Kar-Wai, the director, is known for painting his films with unforgettable colors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the first story, the palette is melancholic. The hues are heavy, as if carrying the sorrow of the characters themselves. They don\u2019t just decorate the film\u2014they embody its soul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dark blues, neon greens, smoky orange tones. Rain-soaked streets. Dim lights flickering in the night.
Everything is designed to make you feel lonely<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plus, pineapple happens to be my favorite fruit\u2014maybe that\u2019s another reason why I take this movie a little too personally, haha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf memories could be canned, would they have expiry dates?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And with that, let\u2019s move on to the second story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One thing I absolutely love about this movie is the \u201ctransition\u201d<\/strong> between the two stories. Cop 223 bumps into a girl who has just started working at the same night restaurant where May once worked. This girl is Faye\u2014one of the central characters of the second story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThat was the closest we\u2019d ever been. There was only 0.01 centimetres between us. I didn\u2019t know anything about her. But six hours later, she fell in love with another man.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the second part of the film, we witness Faye falling in love for the very first time\u2014with another man<\/em>. That man is another cop, Cop 663. He works night shifts, not far from the late-night restaurant where Faye spends her time. Getting his meals there has clearly become his routine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When he first meets Faye, there\u2019s loud music playing on the tape recorder\u2014California Dreamin\u2019<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDo you like loud music?\u201d
<\/em> \u201cYes. The louder the better. Keeps me from thinking.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The story is essentially about these two\u2014getting to know each other, and in the process, getting to know themselves. For both of them, this is a whole new experience. Cop 663 is<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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learning how to love again after his breakup with a flight attendant, while Faye is discovering love for the very first time. She doesn\u2019t quite know what to do, or even how to feel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Months later, Faye leaves for another country to chase her dream of going to California. A year later, she returns\u2014not just as a traveler, but as a flight attendant herself, constantly seeing new places. When she revisits the night restaurant, she hears California Dreamin\u2019<\/em> again\u2014only this time, she finds Cop 663 running the place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What follows is a brief conversation, yet one of the most meaningful exchanges I\u2019ve ever seen in cinema. It\u2019s hard to capture its depth in words\u2014you truly need to experience the entire film to understand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They talk about the time that has passed, and Faye mentions her flight the next morning. When Cop 663 asks to fly with her, she turns the question back to him:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhere do you want to go?\u201d<\/em>
<\/em> \u201cDoesn\u2019t matter. Wherever you want to take me.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve skipped many details to keep this writing short, but this is the essence of the story. And no matter how much I write, nothing could ever match the experience of watching this film for the first time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Personally, I love this story even more\u2014maybe because California Dreamin\u2019<\/em> is one of my favorite songs, or maybe because I feel so similar to Faye. I actually cried at the ending\u2014not because it was sad, but because it was so hauntingly beautiful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second story\u2019s colors are brighter and happier. The characters were lonely once, but now they have found each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One thing I find especially interesting is that the film was shot without a scenario or a script. The cast and crew weren\u2019t even allowed to film in many locations, so they mostly shot at night. They couldn\u2019t wear police uniforms in public either, which meant they had to be very careful while filming. Cop 663\u2019s apartment in the film was actually the cinematographer\u2019s real house. The messy, crowded interior added so much personality to the movie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This film is not just a story but a feeling\u2014something that stays with me long after the credits roll. It\u2019s messy, beautiful, and full of life, just like the people in it. Maybe that\u2019s why it feels so unforgettable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This might sound clich\u00e9, but that\u2019s exactly what I love: this film has personality<\/strong>.
This film is different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This is my very first writing on this blog, so I wanted to make it more special. Some movies make you think\u2014tickling your brain long after the credits roll.Some movies make you feel\u2014feel the emotions you didn\u2019t even know existed.Some movies make you laugh, giving you joy while watching, yet leaving you empty afterward. Maybe […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":276,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[169,34,33,177,207,208,32,175,203,193,172,170,39,183,29,195,191,167,164,198,42,53,50,210,173,196,35,201,45,49,189,55,54,168,41,31,163,184,202,188,36,181,37,38,206,178,40,43,209,180,52,51,204,186,205,166,190,48,185,176,182,171,174,197,194,192,187,211,199,179,30,165,162,200,44],"class_list":["post-274","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-film-reviews","tag-1990s-hong-kong-movies","tag-34","tag-90s-cinema","tag-art-house-cinema-review","tag-artistic-storytelling-films","tag-asian-art-cinema","tag-asian-cinema","tag-atmospheric-romantic-films","tag-best-art-house-romance","tag-best-asian-cinema","tag-best-wong-kar-wai-films","tag-brigitte-lin-actress","tag-california-dreamin","tag-chance-encounters-film","tag-chungking-express","tag-chungking-express-analysis","tag-chungking-express-explained","tag-chungking-express-film-incelemesi","tag-chungking-express-movie-review","tag-cinematic-masterpieces","tag-cinematic-moments","tag-cinematography","tag-colors","tag-critically-acclaimed-romance-films","tag-cult-classic-movies","tag-cult-romance-classics","tag-dreams","tag-dreamy-love-films","tag-emotional-cinema","tag-emotions","tag-experimental-storytelling","tag-faye","tag-faye-wong","tag-faye-wong-chungking-express","tag-film-review","tag-hong-kong-cinema","tag-hong-kong-cinema-classics","tag-hong-kong-new-wave-cinema","tag-hong-kong-romance-movies","tag-iconic-90s-asian-films","tag-loneliness","tag-love-and-loneliness-movies","tag-love-story","tag-melancholy","tag-memorable-performances-tony-leung","tag-modern-hong-kong-classics","tag-movie-thoughts","tag-movies-i-love","tag-must-watch-wong-kar-wai","tag-neo-noir-romance","tag-neon","tag-neon-colors","tag-offbeat-romantic-dramas","tag-poetic-cinema","tag-quirky-love-stories","tag-romantic-drama-films","tag-romantic-drama-review","tag-storytelling","tag-stylish-cinematography","tag-takeshi-kaneshiro-movie","tag-timeless-love-stories","tag-tony-leung-chiu-wai-performance","tag-unconventional-romance-films","tag-underrated-romance-films","tag-unforgettable-wong-kar-wai","tag-unique-love-stories","tag-urban-alienation-films","tag-urban-romance-movies","tag-visually-poetic-films","tag-visually-stunning-films","tag-wong-kar-wai","tag-wong-kar-wai-cinema","tag-wong-kar-wai-filmleri","tag-wong-kar-wai-masterpiece","tag-writing-about-film"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/elfsverse.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/elfsverse.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/elfsverse.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elfsverse.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elfsverse.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=274"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/elfsverse.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":405,"href":"https:\/\/elfsverse.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274\/revisions\/405"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elfsverse.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/276"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/elfsverse.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=274"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elfsverse.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=274"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elfsverse.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=274"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}