ChungKing Express [Mandarin/Cantonese]

Karthick, Shekar and Harish catch up to discuss on a Romantic film as discussd in their earlier post.

Chungking Express

Imdb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109424/

Karthick: Now, tell me What is Romance?

Harish and Shekar stare at each other wondering what has come over Karthick.

Harish: [Clears his throat]. An emotion arising out of mutual liking.

Shekar: Wait, Let me search wikipedia.

Karthick: No, Wait. I really wonder if it really exists[with a little sadness and sigh].

Shekar: May is Gone! May is Gone!

Harish: Waiting makes Women Nervous!

Karthick: True. Chungking express is a classic! I guess both of the dialogues you said are said by the hotel owner to cop 223 right?

Shekar: Yep! Are you fine with discussing a movie?

Karthick: Absolutely, I badly wanted to discuss this movie. There is such subtlety and finesse in this movie. Doesn’t look like a movie taken in haste though it was indeed taken in a short time span as a break from the serious epic film “The Ashes of Time”…

Shekar: To put it in context, Wong-Kar-wai was working on Wuxia film, The Ashes of Time and he was caught in the cob-web of editing an epic film. So, he wanted to take a real quick break, make a jumpy funky little film following his instincts and that’s how we got this masterpiece called Chungking express.

Harish: True, at times, Movies with limited or no scripts fare better than those with bound scripts.

Karthick: It is not just being with out scripts, but this film speaks volumes about love and life. The film is as simple as it can get. It is about two cops, getting into a relationship, undergo the pain of separation, Wait, Contemplate, Wait some more time and move on.

Shekar: The plot is wafer thin. In as such there is no plot. To me, this film is a pure documentation of lives crisscrossing each other. What is most astounding is the dialogues in this film. Some are just mind blowing. Brings out the character in just few lines…

223 We split up on April Fool’s Day. So I decided to let the joke run for a month. Every day I buy a can of pineapple with a sell-by date of May 1. May loves pineapple, and May 1 is my birthday. If May hasn’t changed her mind by the time I’ve bought thirty cans, then our love will also expire.

Harish: True, Especially about the first Cop 223, who has broken up on April 1st and decides to wait for a month more by collecting PineApple Cans which will expire on May 1st because his girlfriend ‘May’ likes canned pineapples and if she doesn’t turn back with in a month, as much as the can expires, his love shall also expire. He goes to a store nearby on April 30th to collect the last pineapple can that will expire next day… The conversation goes like this…

223 goes shopping. Any canned pineapple that expires on May 1?

Cashier You know what day it is today?

223 April 30?

Cashier Right. You think we sell outdated stock?

223 There’s still two hours to go.

Cashier Nobody would buy it. Get a fresh one.

223 People like you are hung up on freshness. You realize what goes into a can of pineapple? The fruit must be grown, harvested, sliced, and you just throw it away! How do you think the can feels about that?

Cashier Buddy, I only work here. Who cares about how the cans feel? What about how I feel? Loading, more loading, unloading… How I wish cans wouldn’t expire! It’d save me loads of work. You like expired cans? Help yourself! As many as you like! On the house!

223 leaves the store.

223 Somehow everything comes with an expiry date. Swordfish expires. Meat sauce expires. Even cling-film expires. Is there anything in the world which doesn’t?

223 gives a can of pineapple to a passing street person. The street person looks at the can and throws it on the ground.

Street person It’s expired. Don’t want it.

223 You sure?

Karthick: Ha Ha ! Everything comes with an expiry date. I think, it is under pressure, one comes with spontaneous dialogues.

Harish: Tony Wiu comes as the second cop in this film. Mind blowing acting.

Karthick: Trust me, If my ex-girl friend shows up in front of me, I wouldn’t know what to do but to give that stoic expression of Tony Wiu…

Shekar: Hey, Another subtle point to note is, Even though Hong Kong, where this movie is based upon is so crowded, Tony’s character is so lonely after the break up with the flight attendant.

Harish: Yes, Until his room is invaded by Faye.

Lonely Cop 633

Karthick: Oh! To put it this way, invaded out of love. The conversations between Faye and Tony that happens in the streets and later in the hotel are so natural. You know, there is a chemistry between them. You wish to see them get together. They wish to see them get together. They both keep checking their line of thoughts through subtle gestures and conversations. It’s beautiful. Love has its own charm I say…

Hotel Midnight Express – Faye and Cop 633

Here is a fantastic piece of dialogue by Tony a.k.a Cop 633 about his loneliness and how he associates with his apartment’s condition.

633 [finds his apartment is flooded.

Did I leave the tap running, or is the apartment getting more tearful? I always thought it would cope okay. Didn’t expect it to cry so much. When people cry, they can dry their eyes with tissues. But when an apartment cries, it takes a lot to mop it up.

Shekar: And yes, on seeing the dripping towel in his apartment,

633 sees a towel dripping. It was such a relief when I saw it crying. It may look different, but it’s still true to itself. It’s still an emotionally charged towel.

Harish: Here’s what Tarrentino has got to tell about this film…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DX8aUixCpek&feature=related

For more technical reading on this film and comparison, check out

http://www.criterion.com/current/posts/766

And For trivia mongerer – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chungking_Express

Karthick: And yes, the climax is very open and I think, even relationships have to be open minded when it comes to this mysterious emotion called Romance. There is a fantastic dialogue by a character with a blonde wig, played be Brigitte Lin that brings out the uncertainties of living so casually…

Woman in blonde wig (Brigitte Lin) Somehow I’ve become very cautious. When I put on a raincoat, I put on sunglasses too. Who knows when it will rain, or when it will turn out sunny?

Shekar: True. The last piece of conversation between Faye and Tony. a.k.a Cop 633 is a master piece. Life as it takes its turns winds up for both of them at the same point where it all started… Faye comes back dressed as flight attendant to meet Cop 633 and they both meet up surprisingly at the same hotel where Faye used to work,

Faye Where do you want to go?

633 Wherever you want to take me.

Harish: All I would suggest is, this is a movie not to be missed. So simple and lucid. Never fails to impress me how much ever time I see it…

Karthick: To say our usual last word, A must watch film by Wong Kar wai.

Shekar:

Good then lets catch up again for some other film. May be we should talk a little about some action films preferably Martial arts. How about “7aam Arivu”

Harish: Is that even a martial arts film?

Karthick: Come on, that movie’s first twenty minutes is about BodhiDharmar, who went from TamilNadu to China to teach them the Martial arts that they know today…

Shekar: Good Then, Lets catch up on a good Martial arts film then… Bye.