Revisiting Wong Kar Wai’s Chungking Express (1994)

Guest Writer Leksen Yeong unpacks the cultural context behind Wong Kar Wai’s Chungking Express (1994), as well as the potential merits of style over substance.

12 frames per second. Neon lights. City of loneliness. Chungking Express (1994), loved and lauded by students new to film and film critics alike, has always been categorised into the “it’s not about the story but the vibes” type of movies. However, I am often reminded of the quote, “Beauty can be a great tool when used in service of a concept” (The Cinema Cartographer), and I am inclined to agree. In other words, the aesthetic value of a movie can be worth so much more when paired with great ideas.

But before one dives into the movie proper, one cannot talk about Chungking Express outside of the context and place it was situated in. So, Hong Kong- what was it? A space of continuous transience, Hong Kong is a political entity without a past, which indicates the absence of a British identity beneath its façade, as well as the absence of a Chinese identity after the handover process. (Wix) Many have argued that all art is political. Hence extrapolating from this vein of thought, one must then realise that the metaphysical and geopolitical will always manifest in the interpersonal. The characters live in one of the densest places on earth, yet isolation is arguably the most recurring theme throughout the movie. Bumping shoulders with people is unavoidable- as shown throughout the various action sequences in the movie, yet everyone in it struggles to find people to connect with, relationships that can really ground them and free them of their melancholy that they demonstrate through their unrequited yearnings, mirroring the confusion some Hong Kongers feel about their identity. The film is structurally split into two stories, each talking about a police officer dealing with failed romances and the lingering feeling of loneliness amidst the backdrop of a bustling Hong Kong in the 90s. Their coping mechanisms are hidden behind abstractions, metaphors and flowery language. Takeshi’s character (first story) imbues expired pineapple can slices with the melancholy of his past romance while Tony’s character (second story) comforts objects around his house, as if he is offering free therapy to himself after his breakup. Questions of a sense of belonging on a political level hang heavy in the air and show themselves in interpersonal relationships. Faye Wong’s character dreams of going to California, shown in the recurring soundtrack of California Dreamin’- she even books a flight to California to avoid forming a romantic attachment (reinforcing the point on loneliness earlier), but ultimately feels disappointed about the place. This shows that California for her was never a place to go to better herself, but a fantastical escape from her everyday worries- a proverbial greener grass on the other side, which one can argue is borne out of a confusion and dissatisfaction of where one calls ‘home’, in this instance being Hong Kong. 

On the original point of purposeful aestheticism, we can start by looking at the backbone or structure of the movie to understand technical mastery behind the film, as well as its limitations. As mentioned before, Chungking Express can be viewed as two separate movies that bear little to no narrative linkage to each other. The two thus serve as good complements to each other and can hence be compared and contrasted. For example, while the first story depicts a sort of doomed romance- with a cop and a drug dealer, the second story is more optimistic and shows a romance that almost comes to fruition- perhaps insinuating that finding love in the city of loneliness may be possible after all. What they do share in common, however, is again the theme of urban isolation. The(ir) isolation is highlighted through the repetitive inner monologue- (the) voice-over(s) encapsulates people in their own emotional world and does not welcome other people to explore their inner emotion (Medium, Fan Zhang). Add Christopher Doyle’s iconic blurry staccato filming style and you get a brand new cinematic language. This is especially refreshing when juxtaposed against how films depicting loneliness were traditionally shot (think long, stationary takes). 

However, this structural division also creates a sense of disconnection because neither storyline value-adds, resolves or even significantly impacts the other. In fact, it can feel repetitive to some as the fundamental storylines and dynamics of both stories mirror each other. Now, to clarify, repetition or even including ‘nothingness’ as a theme for a movie is not necessarily a bad thing. In Groundhog Day (1993), repetition is used to find out how to live- especially when one finds themselves trapped in a meaningless cycle. In Burning, nothingness is lathered with layers upon layers of meaning- the most prominent of which, in my opinion, was the illustration of how disposable marginalised and working class people were in the eyes of the elites. Chungking Express provides no such outlet- intentionality is little to non-existent. This then raises the age-old question of what art is- does intentionality affect art? I am no art connoisseur and therefore will not endeavour to answer such a question. What I do know, however, is that I am preferential to art that is perhaps more tangible in its expression and one that evokes feelings within me. An example I can provide to show that I am not of the “all modern art is bad” camp is ‘Can’t Help Myself’ by Sun Yuan and Peng Yu. A robotic arm is programmed to fruitlessly mop up a big dark red puddle of liquid resembling blood until the day it malfunctions. Its brilliance lies in its clear intention and execution- but ambiguous context which left countless audiences relating to the art despite their vastly different backgrounds. And now, a disclaimer. I am cognisant of the fact that I certainly do not represent all film audiences/voices and that Wong/fans should not pander to all voices- such an attitude discourages avant garde art from being made and we will all be poorer without it. However, I know that I am not the only one of this opinion and that more anti-establishment voices discussing what merits art, and by extension good art, should be encouraged.

But to give credit where credit is due, the film is definitely avant-garde and daring for its time, and one can relatively easily see the vision that Wong Kar Wai had for his film. However, there are always two sides to a coin. The film’s emphasis on style- its rapid-fire editing and use of unconventional camera angles can lead to accusations of style over substance, especially when character motivations are murky and plot continuity is unstable. For example, Faye’s character’s quirky house cleaning scene is more fantastical than grounded in any discernible character motivation. This approach of prioritising mood and cinematic experience over character development can make it harder for some to fully connect with the protagonists on an emotional level. This is especially so when the movie teases us with a normal scene introduction (cop chasing criminals) and markets itself with a normal setting (bustling city of Hong Kong). This is opposed to movies set in more whimsical settings such as outer space or a multiverse where audiences expect the normal rules of conduct to be thrown out the window and the expectations that come along with it as well.

Returning back to the argument on the political, if one were to view this through a political lens, one might see the failed flirtations with romance as metaphors for fruitless flirtations with independence. Post-handover, Hong Kong saw its press freedom soar to the highest in Asia by the turn of the millennium, attaining the 18th highest spot in the world by its peak (Reporters Without Borders). Hong Kongers were free to have discourse on the current and future state of their nation state, and for a while it seemed, an independent Hong Kong for Hong Kongers seemed a legitimate possibility. With a separate legal system, economy, currency and passport, Hong Kong seemed like a de facto country in all but name under the One Country Two Systems policy. However, in hindsight, we knew this was not to be as mainland China passed its National Security Law and halted the aforementioned aspirations. Chungking Express was born out of this political turbulence and uncertainty and viewing the movie through this lens is definitely helpful in understanding the dynamics of the inhabitants of the city. 

To play the devil’s advocate, it is entirely within the realm of possibility that Wong Kar Wai prioritised style over substance on purpose. This artifice and superficiality could be viewed as a way to understand how Hong Kongers viewed the roles they played within the larger society they inhabited, especially in the context of capitalism. Faye Wong famously fell out of love with Hong Kong’s media industry, citing its shady behaviour from record companies and tabloid paparazzis as sources of disgruntlement, choosing a quiet life in her native Beijing instead. I might be going out on a limb here, but Wong might have thought of portraying Hong Kong’s capitalistic society to distance itself from mainland China, albeit in a negative light like Faye Wong did. Linking back to artifice, we see characters engaging in superficial behaviours and conversations and struggling to relate to each other. Because in such a hyper consumerist society, everything, and by extension, everyone, is disposable. Characters “dispose” romantic relationships as fast as they throw away food take outs as everything is renewable in such a society, sentimental value be damned. Tong Leung’s cop character has a flight stewardess for an ex, and while he almost romances a waitress, after their romance fails to bloom, she in turn becomes a flight stewardess too. The fact that these women are barely or infrequently named reinforces the idea of replaceability- one air stewardess was replaced with the next.

However, it could also be the case that “the curtains are blue”; that we are drawing from subtext that was never intended to be a thematic aspect of the movie. Wong has certainly never expressed that his films were political, nor are such themes apparent to uninformed viewers on the first watch. That being said, viewing the movie through a political lens certainly gives an uninformed movie-goer like myself a deeper appreciation of the general context that the movie was borne out of. But alas, the abstractions that the film flirts with can lead to accusations of style over substance. A cliche critique, I’m aware, but is it so ghastly to be curious about why the relationships in the movie never came to fruition? Or what the characters were explicitly thinking when they made decisions throughout the movie? I guess only Wong Kar Wai will know.