Two Hong Kong cops (Takeshi Kaneshiro and Tony Leung) deal with broken hearts crushed at the hands of lovers who have flown the coup – one of them quite literally – while on the job. Their lives intersect, however slightly, at roadside take-out restaurant Midnight Express, a cute, free-spirited waitress Faye (Faye Wong) serving them both while a mysterious blonde-haired woman (Brigitte Lin) with blood-red lips floats at the periphery.

CRITIQUE

I had never seen Wong Kar-Wai’s (In the Mood for Love, My Blueberry Nights) 1994 international smash Chungking Express until the recently released Criterion Collection Blu-ray surprisingly landed upon my doorstep. While I’d heard great things, and while I’d also been more than impressed with many of the filmmaker’s latter works, for some reason this one had never screamed at me as a must-see. There just wasn’t an attraction, and no matter how many times I thought about putting it into my Netflix que or pondered grabbing it up at the video store something else always ended up taking its place.

Big mistake on my part because since getting this disc I’ve now watched the movie three times and I’ve been blown away each viewing, this arguably the best thing of Kar-Wai’s I’ve ever had the pleasure to enjoy. This is a free-wheeling rollercoaster ride of inspiration and energy, the vibe a pure treasure trove of excitement and romantic whimsy that’s nothing less than a freewheeling effervescent delight.

What’s most interesting here is that this is the film that probably never should have been. After the trial and tribulations of trying to get his martial arts epic Ashes and Diamonds (a new cut of which, Ashes and Diamonds Redux, the director just released this past year) finished, Kar-Wai was virtually buried under a ton of criticism labeling him as an intense visualist unable to tell coherent (or interesting) stories with a dramatic pulse.

It was during a break in the filming and editing of that difficult epic that the filmmaker decided to put that label to the test. Working with frequent collaborator cinematographer Christopher Doyle, the duo composed, formulated, shot, edited and released Chungkging Express in roughly three months. That haphazard, freewheeling vibe is all for the best, however, and for the life of me I can’t imagine adoring the film any more if it didn’t constantly have that mesmerizing feel of constantly being on the verge of going completely off the rails.

The first half, a noir-tinged romantic crime melodrama of sorts, follows Cop 223 (Kaneshiro) as he pangs for the love of his life who has recently broken up with him. Figuring she’ll be with him in a month’s time, he compulsively buys small cans of pineapple (her favorite food) with the expiration date of May 1, 1994, a day that’s not only 30 removed from the moment of his breakup but also just so happens to be his twenty-fifth birthday. It is a countdown to a sort of oblivion, everything leading to a drunken encounter with a woman of mystery (Lin) whose secrets could make the detective’s career if he weren’t so blinded by lovesickness and unable to see them.

If the first part is some kind of Tarantino meets Goddard blast of New Wave irony, the second is a shameless screwball comedy of opposites Howard Hawks probably would have adored. It follows another cop, 663 (Leung), as he pines for an airline stewardess girlfriend (Valerie Chow) who left him for bluer skies. It is that Moonlight Express waitress, Faye, who becomes infatuated with him, especially after she receives a letter from the ex containing a kiss-off note and a pair of the officer’s apartment keys.

They’re complete opposites in just about every way, but thanks to a bit of breaking and entering (as well as a fair amount of redecorating, plant watering and window cleaning) they just might end up discovering they’re perfect for one another even when all the signs point to the contrary.

As good as that first section is, and it is admittedly priceless, it is that second half of the film where things take off and hit the stratosphere. There is a sing-song virtuosity on display unlike anything else I’ve ever seen the director accomplish let alone attempt anywhere else within his impressive oeuvre.

From the moment that the Mamas and the Papas’ “California Dreamin’” blared upon the soundtrack and Wong sauntered uniquely across the screen I knew something different was about to occur; the second her version of The Cranberries’ “Dreams” brightly backed up her B&E montage of ebullient maid service I knew this was a movie I was going to treasure for quite some time.

Doyle’s camerawork is splendiferous, while Kar-Wai’s melding of all the pieces together borders on the stupendous. But it is the feel of the film, the energy produced from its varying romantic entanglements and the way both of these tales of loneliness and discovery coalesce into one that makes it truly a one of a kind miracle and a cineaste’s delight. Watching it build and breathe and evolve and grow is like listening to a classic symphony reach its dynamic coda or reading the signature moment of classic literature or reveling in every syllable of a treasured Shakespearean sonnet.

It sounds like a bunch of hyperbole, and more than likely it probably is to some extent, but that is exactly how watching Chungking Express made me feel as soon as it was over. The only recent pictures I can even remotely compare it to are John Carney’s Once and Richard Linklater’s Before Sunset. Both of those, too, sent me out on a deliriously jovial high, and every time I watch either of them I am reminded of my first marvelous impressions. More, I add to them, and like all works of great cinema those two evolve and change into something even more miraculous each time they come to an end.

That’s how I feel about Chungking Express. I can’t help but think this is a movie, like those two (and also like Hawks’ Bringing Up Baby, Godard’s Breathless, Tarantino’s Jackie Brown and Louis Malle’s Elevator to the Gallows, all films that feel, in a way, like cousins to this one) that’s I’ll return to again and again and never grow tired of. It’s that good, my only complaint that it’s taken me almost 15 years to discover that fact for myself.

THE VIDEO

Criterion is really setting a new standard with these Blu-ray releases. Both Bottle Rocket and The Third Man really blew my mind, but their transfer of Chungking Express might just be their best yet amongst this first wave of releases. Presented in its original 1.66:1 aspect ratio encoded at 1080p, I can’t think of a single bad thing to say so I’ll just leave things there.

THE AUDIO

The film is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 with optional new and improved English subtitles composed just for this release.

THE EXTRAS

The extras are actually rather skimpy for a Criterion release, but as the movie is the true selling point here this didn’t matter me all that much this time around for some reason. That said, the essay by Film Comment contributing editor Amy Taubin is great, her ability to discuss and talk about Chungking Express in ways I can only hint at makes for an absorbing and sensational read.

Also included is the film’s original domestic theatrical trailer and a snippet from the British television show “Moving Pictures” featuring interviews with both Kar-Wai and Doyle. The latter is the standout, of course, but the former is still rather interesting, Miramax’s selling of the film completely both idiotic and nonsensical but also completely understandable considering the almost incomprehensible nature of the narratives the studio was trying to sell.

Finally, there is also an audio commentary by noted Asian cinema critic Tony Rayns. At times fascinating, overall I admit this commentary ended up not doing very much for me, mainly because I felt Rayns spent more time talking about how cool it was/is to be going to Hong Kong film premiers and how special it is to know all these great Chinese filmmakers. It was like he was showing off, and as great as much of the information is he imparts I still couldn’t get over the semi-pompous way in which he was delivering it.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Chungking Express, in a single viewing, became one of my favorite motion pictures. I say that with complete sincerity. Buy it immediately and see exactly what it is I’m talking about.