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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nThis blog represents the longest stretch of time of far between watching a movie and writing my blog on it. I got sick a couple of weeks ago and lost my momentum, and, well, you know how it goes. So forgive me: My recollection may be a bit fuzzy. Anyway. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wong Kar-wai’s “Chungking Express” is made up of two loosely interconnected stories, each about a lovesick Hong Kong cop. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the first, He Qiwu (Takeshi Kaneshiro), recently dumped by his girlfriend May, allows himself a month \u2014 until his birthday on May 1 \u2014 before moving on. To mark the passage of time, he buys a can of pineapples every day with that expiration date. Meanwhile, an unnamed woman (Brigitte Lin) navigates the aftermath of a drug-smuggling operation gone wrong. On the evening of May 1, she and He Qiwu briefly connect in a bar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the second story, Cop 663, whose flight attendant girlfriend just left him, floats through his days in a haze of apathy and depression. Faye (Faye Wong), a young woman who works at his regular lunch spot \u2014 and maybe the first modern “manic pixie dream girl” \u2014 becomes quietly obsessed with him. She steals the keys to his apartment when the flight attendant leaves them at the restaurant with a Dear John letter, and starts spending her days at 663’s place while he works. Faye rearranges his stuff, adds new fish to his aquarium, and generally makes herself at home. One day, home early, he catches her trying to come in and romance blossoms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I really loved “Chungking Express.” It’s playful and funny and smart without being at all pretentious. Wong uses the camera to cleverly underscore the themes of urban alienation and the intersections\/divergences between physical proximity and emotional intimacy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n