I had never seen Kar Wai Wong’s Chungking Express. So before I decided on whether or not I wanted to pick up the brand new Criterion Blu-ray I had to give it a once over and I must say I loved it, especially the second half as teased in the scene to the right, which features Faye Wong as Faye doing a little “cleaning up” at Cop 663’s (Tony Leung) apartment. The song is also sung by Wong and is a Cantonese version of the Cranberries song “Dreams” (at least I am assuming it’s in Cantonese). It was a turning point scene for me and I know I will be picking up the Blu-ray as I can already tell this DVD transfer did not do the film justice.
Personally I connected much more with the second half of the film, but I don’t think it would have been nearly as effective had it not been for the first half. This flick is an all around joy that just got better and better. It’s a mix of love, life, music and just everything that makes watching a movie magical.
Oh, and if you like the song in the clip there are plenty more on iTunes although you will have to sift through some of the other names she is listed as. Several good songs can be found on a compilation album called “Fei Mai Pin”. Good stuff. Here’s the Criterion synopsis:
The whiplash, double-pronged Chungking Express is one of the defining works of nineties cinema and the film that made Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar-wai an instant icon. Two heartsick Hong Kong cops (Takeshi Kaneshiro and Tony Leung), both jilted by ex-lovers, cross paths at the Midnight Express take-out restaurant stand, where the ethereal pixie waitress Faye (Faye Wong) works. Anything goes in Wong’s gloriously shot and utterly unexpected charmer, which cemented the sex appeal of its gorgeous stars and forever turned canned pineapple and the Mamas and the Papas’ “California Dreamin'” into tokens of romantic longing.
