The movie consists of 2 stories. The 1st story stars Brigitte Lin as a drug dealer being tricked by her Indian drug traffickers and her meeting with Kaneshiro who is a cop. The 2nd story stars Tony Leung and Faye Wong in her film debut.
What I like about this movie is that it shows the other side of Hong Kong that we don't normally see ie the non-Chinese groups such as Caucasians and the Indians. The movie shows our reluctance to show our true image. Brigitte wears a wig and sunglasses to hide her true self. Faye Wong secretly cleans the apartment for Tony Leung. Kaneshiro refuses to see the truth that his girlfriend has left him. Tony Leung refuses to acknowledge the fact that his apartment is getting cleaner and cleaner.
Since many reviews cited this movie as a reflection of the director's perception of Hong Kong's handover on 1st July 1997, I will add my comments to this perspective based on the 1st story. At the start, Brigitte, the drug smuggler represents China whilst Kaneshiro represents Hong Kong. Brigitte prodded by the English bartender (also drug boss) cuts a deal with some Indians to smuggle drugs who cheated her by running away with the drugs. Hong Kong started off because the British East Indian Company wanted the lucrative trade with the Chinese and one of the main items traded was opium. Kaneshiro's girlfriend is May (Ah Mei) which is a common name for girls in Hong Kong who dumped him. It could mean that Hong Kong tried to make long-term relationships with other countries but failed. He make 2 phone calls to other girls, of which 1 was Japanese and the other girl was a girl he knew from childhood (This could be Taiwan). He counts the no. of pineapple cans that he has. Many Hong Kongers count the years, then months and then days to 1st July 1999. But why pineapple, pineapple is both sweet and sour. Before 1st July, Hong Kong will endure many happy and unhappy events.
Kaneshiro meets Brigitte at a Bar and tries to know her. Before 1997, many Hong Kongers tried to befriend the influential officials in China. Brigitte tells Kaneshiro that he is young. China has always placed emphasis on its history and ties to Hong Kong. Hong Kong is always younger than China. Kaneshiro invites Brigitte to his apartment. Some years before 1997, Hong Kong gets Beijing more involved in its activities. In the apartment, Brigitte sleeps and the only thing that Kaneshiro can do for her is take off her shoes for her and cleans her shoes. In the reality before 1st July 1997, China is already self-sufficient and the addition of Hong Kong affects China mildly as Hong Kong is only a fraction of what China can do. When it is a brand new day and another year in Kaneshiro's life, he gets a page from Brigitte. This shows that Hong Kong would like to be remotely controlled instead of directly controlled by China. Meanwhile, the English bartender gets very friendly with the Filippino waitress which shows that the West will be more friendly with other nations once Hong Kong's handover occur. Brigitte shoots the English bartender and throws away the wig. China tells Great Britain to hands off Hong Kong and removes all signs of British influence from Hong Kong.
Just my two cents' worth of mumbo jumbo analysis. Please read the other reviews for their points of view.
At this point of time, this is the last movie which Brigitte Lin acted.
The Chung King Express Soundtrack picts includes postcards. The Chung King Express Soundtrack - Japanese edition picts is also available with a booklet instead.
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With our previous movie polls, 37 people voted with 86% (32 votes) who thought it was excellent, 5% (2 votes) who thought it was good, 0% (0 votes) who thought it was OK, 5% (2 votes) who thought it was bad and 2% (1 vote) who thought it was terrible.
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Awards won by Chung King Express
Cast : Brigitte Lin Ching-Hsia, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Faye Wong
Ching-Man,
Takeshi Kaneshiro (Gum Sing-Mo), Valerie Chow Kar-Ling
Director : Wong Kar Wai
Writer : Wong Kar Wai
Cinematographer : Christopher Doyle, Andrew Lau
Art Director : Cheung Suk Ping, Yau Wai Ming
Editors : Cheung Suk Ping, Kong Chi Leung, Hai Git Wai
Spoken : Mandarin, Cantonese
Subtitles : English
Film : Hong Kong
Distributor : Ocean Shores Video Ltd
