Review: Chungking Express (重慶森林)

In less than two weeks my Harvard Summer School film class starts, and I'm trying to get as many "outside viewing" screenings in beforehand. Last night we watched Chungking Express (重慶森林), directed by Wong Kar-wai (王家衛).

Where to start with this review? Well, the title deserves a mention. It may sound like it has something to do with the fast train to Sichuan province's second-largest city, Chongqing (the new pinyin spelling of "Chungking"), but it has nothing to do with trains or the Sichuanese city. "Chungking" is a reference to Chungking Mansions, the gray, hulking, decrepit high-rise building that squats on Nathan Road in the southern part of Kowloon, across the harbor from Hong Kong. "Express" refers to the little fast-food restaurant in or near the building that is central to the movie's plot. However, the Chinese title of the film translates to "Chungking Forest," which refers to the forest of concrete that is the setting for most of the film. The director paints this setting with a gritty mixture of rain, neon, underworld activity, and a clash of cultures; this reminded me very much of the cityscape and social environment depicted in Blade Runner.

The plot of Chungking Express is divided into two parts. I am not going to spoil it here, but suffice it to say that loneliness, and an inability to make human contact, figure prominently. A very un-Chinese aspect of the characters is the absense of family members, or references to family relationships (with one minor exception). There aren't any close friendships among colleagues, or even old friends to fall back on. Everyone is an island, adrift in a concrete jungle.

Chungking Express is one of the first Hong Kong films I've seen in many years. When I lived in Taiwan they were staple of movie theaters, MTVs, and television, but I dreaded watching them. Most were mindless gangster, slapstick, or historical dramas infused with heavy doses of gongfu action. "Chopey-Sockey" was what Gavin Phipps, my British colleague at the China News called this genre, and he liked them! Even those Hong Kong films that didn't follow the usual filmmaking formulae were almost unwatchable in Taiwan, thanks to primitive Mandarin overdubs that seemed to be done by the same screechy cast of voice actors. Chungking Express is thoughtful and generally well-made, the acting is good, and it's mostly in Cantonese, with professionally recorded audio.

Watching Chungking Express reminded me of the first few trips I made to Hong Kong in the early '90s. I stayed in several of the backpacker hostels in Chungking Mansions and Mirador Mansions next door, because they were the cheapest beds I could find. One of the places I stayed -- the Garden Hostel -- was even briefly shown in the film! Director Wong captured the feel of the lower floors of Chungking Mansions very well. It really does have a Third-World ambience, with lots of people from South Asia, Africa, and elsewhere doing business in the warren of curry shops, clothing stores, electronics stalls, and money-changing counters. The only thing Wong missed were the long lines at the elevators, and the backpackers.

Even though I haven't been to Chungking Mansions in more than ten years, I can't imagine it's changed much. Apparently it hasn't, judging by the blog posts of this Dartmouth MBA student and a Canadian backpacker doing an Asian tour. It's one of those places that's slowly evolves but won't change outright until it's knocked down or consumed by fire.

Here's an exterior picture of the building, taken by Peter Bihr and licensed under Creative Commons. Thanks, Peter!