Chungking Express – Museum of the Moving Image

Dir. Wong Kar-wai. 1994, 98 mins. 35mm. With Takeshi Kaneshiro, Brigitte Lin, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai. With all the thrilling speed and polyphony of the mega-city, Chungking Express is a definitive and sui-generis millennial city-symphony. Shot on location with a small crew on a short hiatus during the production of Ashes of Time, Wong pays homage to Hong Kong by posing two contemporaneous stories of strange love against each other. The dual plot follows lonely cop 223 (Takeshi Kaneshiro) and his pursuit of a mysterious blond-wigged woman (Brigitte Lin) in Kowloon, and the “accidental” meetings between lonely cop 663 (Tony Leung) with playful and quirky Faye (Faye Wong) in Lan Kwai Feng, both linked by the sensational fast food stand, the “Midnight Express.” With some of Chris Doyle’s most intoxicating cinematography on display, the film’s surrounding architecture is brilliantly fused with its own electrifying formal design.

Tickets for Friday evening screenings: $12 ($9 for senior citizens and students / free for Museum members) and includes admission to the Museum’s galleries, which are open until 8:00 p.m.

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