Chungking Express explores many key themes and ideas in relation to the story arch of the characters, the ambiguous setting of Hong Kong as an omnipresent force and its aesthetic.
The opening sequence is an important counterpoint to the closing ten minutes. The impending and dramatic Baroque by Michael Galasso sets a dark tone as the non-diegetic score, bringing a sense of foreboding and intense energy. The naturalistic lighting immerses us into the world of Hong Kong, which entraps the viewer into a sense of a microcosmic society. In the first few minutes, we see Hong Kong as a liminal space, into which there is no sense of time. Characters reference daydreaming or sleepwalking, giving us a sense of a suspension into time. The theme of time is important throughout the film, in a historical context, it was shot during the period of transition of Hong Kong from a British to a Chinese colony. The sense of uncertainty taints the film’s ideas, because Hong Kong had developed a parallel culture to China, there was a feeling of insecurity into being merged together. The looming date of the transition can also be seen as allegorical for the 1st of May which is used in the film as a sort of countdown date. The use of quick jump cuts and the in media res puts us straight into the action, giving us a sense of urgency and a fragmented feel – maybe showing us how Hong Kong’s culture is a bricolage of eclectic fragments.
The sense of suffocation in the mass of urban life is portrayed cleverly through Kar Wai Wong’s cinematography- he only shows us the sky twice during the whole movie. It could symbolise the intense urbanisation of Hong Kong, or portray a stereotypical mind-set in some Asian cultures which is similar to always looking down and following specific laid out paths. In my opinion, the absence of the sky further delves us into the quilt of muliculturism that is Hong Kong by instead focusing on the streets – hence the title Chungking Express (Chungking Mansions is a working class building development, whilst Express gives us the idea of the frenetic urban lifestyle). This is quite similar to the use of imagery in the 2005 Thank You For Smoking in which cigarettes are a key theme to the movie, yet we never see any cigarettes or smoking throughout the entire film – this further focuses us on the issues and characters rather than the object of conversation themselves. Wong uses the absence of the sky to create a magnification effect into the lives of our characters, he portrays California as an almost mystical place. The multiple use of the song California Dreamin’ by The Mamas and Papas re-enforces this. Wong really explored the idea that as a human is surrounded by more humans, they learn to isolate themselves. Hence the scenes such as 633 talking to stuffed animals rather than humans or Fay’s relationship through 633 space rather than the real him. This is similar to the sense of alienation that Hong Kong encountered during the transition, as it had developed into its own microcosm of many cultures. Although we can see the multiculturism, there is also a sense of a globalised culture. For example, the McDonald’s logo is purposely dominating the background in the opening scene and dollars are used everywhere, projecting a sense of forced westernism and consumerism. Fast food represents quick gratification with little real outcome – similar to 633’s unwillingness to read letters. In the closing sequence, the Americanised bar is full of western elements such as rolled up checkered shirts and American beer. This could be allegorical to Hong Kong being forcefully appropriated by Britain in the 18th century, but also on how American culture dominates every space – therefore resulting in a loss of original culture. We can see this in the drug smuggling montage, in which cheap consumer goods and tailoring for which Hong Kong is famous for is used to smuggle drugs – Hong Kong’s history with drugs is bloody and a stain on China’s history (The Opium Wars in the 19th century resulted in Hong Kong being taken by the British). This could be a reference to how consumerism and colonialism has tainted Hong Kong – therefore it’s represented through criminal activity rather than in a good light.
Throughout the movie, there is a clear stylisation. For example, the use of reflections or blurring of the characters helps to achieve of a sense of loss of identity. The physical blurring trough steam or rain obstructs us from their emotions and faces which emphasizes the anonymity in such a densely populated space. This mutability of the characters is projected through the transition shots of 223 to 633’s lives. It seems almost unimportant – same setting, same uniform, and same gestures. It’s almost as if Wong relishes in the suspension of time and identity. This confusing of identity is done cleverly and it fits with the quirky style of the film. The use of vertical framing is also apparent in almost every scene. It represents the oppression that comes in such a dense setting like Hong Kong. Maybe also how grounded the characters are in their communities. Handheld camera is used throughout the film, probably for facilitating filming in a closed space, however it also sets a documentary tone to the film. Paired with on location filming in the streets, Wong achieves the same effect as Godard did with Breathless. It makes the setting (Hong Kong) a character in its own way. The neon lights and street life gives a stylized charm and it plays off our characters’ quirkiness very well. It accentuates the authenticity of the city life. The characters’ almost childlike quirkiness is shown through some macro codes. For example, the theme of eating and sleeping is interesting, we always see the characters eat, however they are never full it seems. This could represent the hollow nature of human beings, especially the unhealthy nature of a liminal lifestyle (The Chef’s Salad). It also relates back to the Midnight Express restaurant as a common point between the two cops – whose lives are strangely intertwined.
Wong uses many different macro and micro codes to convey different genres, for example, in the opening sequence there is a fast paced chase scene – similar to an action movie. However by the end of the movie, it has turned into a quirky rom-com with elements of drama. Wong’s fluidity with the genres further projects our character’s quirky natures and plays off rather well. The theme of an impending date had twice been used. Once for 223 and the 1st of May, in which he bought cans of pineapples that expire on the 1st of May, symbolizing the end of a long term relationship, however we end his story to realize that tins of food represents the arbitrary use of expiry dates – that eating a can of food one day after expiration will be just as good – just like Hong Kong after the handover. The second is 633 waiting for Fay to come back, which ends in a bittersweet note (which in a way ends in the same way that 233’s story does – that the future is uncertain but it won’t be the end of the world). Wong uses the visual imagery of clocks and countdowns to explore the idea of a countdown. Wong also uses stylistic shots such as pans onto characters which he uses to convey time passing and melancholy, almost every scene uses some kind of pan which shows us the low attention span of both our characters but also the story (hence the interchangeable elements of both cops).
Altogether, themes of time and impending dates litter Chungking Express. The final scene tells us that although 633 knows the date that he’ll go travel with Fay, he doesn’t know the destination. The film ends by asking 633 “Where do you want to go?” as if telling the people of Hong Kong that they can choose what happens after the handover. This bittersweet ending makes us unsure yet optimistic for the future. The themes of cultural appropriation and mixing is interesting, for example 233 talks to the Blonde woman in 4 languages before she understands him, showing the wide ranges of cultural heritages – we see Indians, mainland Chinese, Hong Kongese, Westerners and Taiwanese people. Wong seems, like Godard, to be proud to show his city in an authentic style, making it a character in his movie. The neon lights and hard fluorescent naturalistic lighting gives a sense that Wong simply started filming in the streets of Hong Kong – which he did. This gives Chungking Express a clear visual style to explore his themes in.Hon
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