Chungking Express

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Chungking Express

PG-13

1994

1h 43m

Comedy

Crime

Drama

Mystery & Thriller

Romance

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

89%

Tomatometer

71 Reviews

93%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

Every day, Cop 223 (Takeshi Kaneshiro) buys a can of pineapple with an expiration date of May 1, symbolizing the day he'll get over his lost love. He's also got his eye on a mysterious woman in a blond wig (Brigitte Lin), oblivious of the fact she's a drug dealer. Cop 663 (Tony Leung Chiu Wai) is distraught with heartbreak over a breakup. But when his ex drops a spare set of his keys at a local café, a waitress (Faye Wong) lets herself into his apartment and spruces up his life.

Critics Consensus

Even if all it had to offer were writer-director Wong Kar-wai's thrillingly distinctive visuals, Chungking Express would be well worth watching; happily, its thoughtfully drawn characters and naturalistic performances also pack a potent dramatic wallop.

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Robert Horton

Film Comment Magazine

04/10/2018

What Chungking Express has are a couple of interesting situations, which don't quite justify a feature-length movie.

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Jeff Shannon

Seattle Times

05/28/2014

3/4

I've never been a big fan of technique that calls attention to itself, but Wong's frenetic blend of slow motion, pixilation, rushing backgrounds and frozen foregrounds (or vice versa) is as integral to this movie as its bubbly story and characters.

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Peter Travers

Rolling Stone

05/28/2014

[Wong's] hypnotic images of love and loss finally wear down your resistance as seemingly discordant sights and sounds coalesce into a radiant, crazy quilt.

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Rose Ho

The Asian Cut

Aug 2

4/5

An intimate and poetic ode to youth.

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Mattie Lucas

trans|cendental cinema

04/17/2025

4/4

A haunting portrait of timely and timeless longing.

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Joshua Polanski

Boston Hassle

07/18/2024

Wong Kar-wai is one of the best filmmakers from one of the most significant film movements... And, in my opinion, Chungking Express is his best film. Supposing one plus one still equals two, that makes this one of the best films ever made

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Owen K.

@NCR23 Apr 30

A wistful and melancholic movie with moments of happiness. It had cool cinematography and a very interesting story.

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Achille V

@RT91076551 Nov 23

I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is dreamy, light and positive with some good acting in it

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O g

@RT76089177 Oct 27

Stylish but insubstantial

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Zipzen O.

@OTZLM Oct 5

Legendary. Chungking Express is the same as a very good short novel. It flows, breathes. It’s light and dreamy. The way its pace flows so naturally makes it an absolute masterpiece. I love this movie so much that it’s on the top of my comfort movie list.

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Hao Ian L

@HaOiAn Sep 7

Chungking Express is like watching a luminous daydream of fleeting love and urban isolation set in the neon-soaked corridors of Hong Kong, in a way that speaks in fragments, repetitions, and fleeting moments, just like how one would actually experience love and loss in the real world.

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Asciai R

@Akio222 Aug 19

It's poetic and beautifully made capturing the essence of being "lost" in youth and take things for granted without realizing the object that you wanted was in front of you all along. Wong Kar Wai's creativeness and artistry are so captivating to the point the scenes itself contains deep messages that pinches our mind to be aware of. One example is the foreground freeze and a motion background, or vise versa where how time move faster than us and we don't quite realized it until it's gone and was taken away from us. Ps: I hate what Faye's doing at his apartment. It's creepy and uncomfortable, overall it's great!

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Kar-Wai Wong

Director

Brigitte Lin

Woman in Blonde Wig

Takeshi Kaneshiro

He Zhiwu, Cop 223

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Cop 663

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Synopsis

Every day, Cop 223 (Takeshi Kaneshiro) buys a can of pineapple with an expiration date of May 1, symbolizing the day he'll get over his lost love. He's also got his eye on a mysterious woman in a blond wig (Brigitte Lin), oblivious of the fact she's a drug dealer. Cop 663 (Tony Leung Chiu Wai) is distraught with heartbreak over a breakup. But when his ex drops a spare set of his keys at a local café, a waitress (Faye Wong) lets herself into his apartment and spruces up his life.

Director: Kar-Wai Wong
Producer: Chan Ye Cheng
Screenwriter: Kar-Wai Wong
Distributor: Miramax Home Entertainment [us], Miramax Films
Production Co: Miramax
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama, Mystery & Thriller, Romance
Original Language: Chinese
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 8, 1994, Original
Release Date (DVD): May 21, 2002
Box Office (Gross USA): $114.9K
Runtime: 1h 43m
Sound Mix: Stereo