Post by FragrantMemory on Jun 20, 2008 12:46:13 GMT -5
Title: Chung King Express (Traditional Chinese: ÖØ‘cÉÁÖ; simplified Chinese: ÖØÇìÉÁÖ; pinyin: Ch¨®ngq¨¬ng S¨¥nl¨ªn)
Director: Wong Kar-wai
Writer: Wong Kar-wai
Cast: Brigitte Lin, Tony Leung, Faye Wong, Takeshi Kaneshiro, and Valerie Chow
Music: Frankie Chan and Roel. A Garcia
Release: 1994
Time: 1:38:01
Summary:
The movie comprises two different stories, told one after the other, each about a romance involving a policeman. Aside for a brief moment when the first story ends and the second begins, the two stories do not interconnect. However, the three main characters from the second story each momentarily appears during the first.
First story
The first story concerns Taiwan-born cop He Qiwu, also known as Cop 223 (played by Kaneshiro). Qiwu was broken up with by his girlfriend May on April 1st (April Fool's Day). His birthday is May 1 and he chooses to wait for May for a month before moving on. Every day he buys a tin of pineapples with an expiration date of May 1. By the end of this time, he feels that he will either be rejoined with his love or that it will have expired forever. Meanwhile, a woman in a blonde wig (played by Brigitte Lin) tries to survive in the drug underworld after a smuggling operation goes sour. On May 1, Qiwu, looking for romance, approaches the woman in the blonde wig at a bar (the Bottoms Up Club). However, she is exhausted and falls asleep in a hotel room, leaving him to watch movies alone. She leaves in the morning and shoots the drug baron who had set her up. Qiwu goes jogging and then visits his usual snack food store where he collides with a new staff member, Faye. At this point, a new story begins.
Second story
In the second story, the unnamed Cop 633 (played by Tony Leung) is similarly dealing with a breakup, this time from a flight attendant (Valerie Chow). He meets Faye, the new girl at the snack bar (played by Faye Wong). She falls for him in secret, and frequently breaks into his apartment during the day to redecorate and "improve" his living situation. Gradually, her ploys help Cop 633 to cheer up, and he eventually realises that Faye likes him and arranges a date at the restaurant 'California'. However, Faye stands him up after a last-minute decision to see the world before settling down; she leaves him a fake boarding pass with a date a year from now. In the last scene, Faye arrives back in Hong Kong, now a flight attendant; she finds that Cop 633 has bought the snack bar and is converting it into a restaurant. They seem to have a future together.
Awards:
1994 Golden Horse Awards
Winner - Best Actor (Tony Leung Chiu Wai)
1995 Hong Kong Film Awards
Winner - Best Picture
Winner - Best Director (Wong Kar-wai)
Winner - Best Actor (Tony Leung Chiu Wai)
Winner - Best Editing (William Cheung Suk-Ping, Kwong Chi-Leung, Hai Kit-Wai)
Trailer: