878. Chong qing sen lin/Chungking Express (1994)

Running Time: 102 minutes
Directed By: Wong Kar-Wai
Written By: Wong Kar-Wai
Main Cast: Brigitte Lin, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Faye Wong, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Valerie Chow
Click here to view the trailer

UNDYING LOVE

Moving right along, we come to my final Wong Kar-Wai picture from THE BOOK - "Chungking Express", one that I had actually seen previously and didn't much care for. Why? I have no clue, because honestly, there isn't much to dislike about this one.

The film is actually two separate stories, so we'll take them one by one and go from there. The first story, which runs about forty-five minutes of the film's approximately ninety minute duration, focuses on a police detective, who has recently had his heart broken. His ex-girlfriend, May left him on April 1st and he's been down in the dumps ever since. He's decided that for each day in April, he'll go to the market and buy a can of pineapple that is dated to expire on May 1st, which is also his birthday. If May hasn't returned to him by the time the pineapple has expired, then he'll move on. Meanwhile, a female criminal donning a blonde wig, raincoat and sunglasses (because one never knows when it will rain or when it will shine) is tracking down some Indian gentlemen who have stolen some drugs from her. She scours the city, but to no avail, ending up in a bar, next to our broken hearted policeman. The second story (my favorite of the two) stars Tony Leung Chiu-Wai ("Happy Together", "In the Mood for Love") as beat cop #663, who has also had his heart broken by a beautiful stewardess. He gets into the habit of going to a local snack bar, during his lunch hour and meets a cute, young worker there named Faye (Wong). Faye, though she doesn't show it, is also interested in him, but the relationship goes virtually untested. When the stewardess drops a letter off at the snack bar, knowing that her ex eats there, Faye reads it and also finds a key to the cop's apartment inside. She decides to let herself in, redecorate his apartment and try to wipe away his past and help him to heal.

The thing that I love about "Chungking Express" is this: Just when I got used to the characters in the first story and not remembering that the film was split into two parts, the first story ends and the second one begins. It was at this time that I was kind of disappointed, as I wanted to continue to explore the detective and the criminal and see where things went. So then, the film has an obstacle: to make me forget about the first set of characters and make me fall in love all over again with the second set. It succeeded! In fact, as I said above, the second story was actually my favorite of the two and it wasn't until the film was all said and done and I reflected, that I realized that as much as I loved both stories, neither had enough meat to make up their own, full length movie - as much as we may have wanted them to.

I may not have enough to give this film the full blown, coveted '10', but this is another film where quibbling over numbers is pointless and just saying it's a great movie is enough. You've got some fantastic cinematography and after reading into it, I find the name Christopher Doyle, a name I recognize, as the one who did the marvelous filming. I find that when I think back to watching this movie last night, a few things stand out: a blurry look at Hong Kong, an unforgettable score and poetic dialogue, that wasn't too poetic. The point I really loved though was that score, which is reminiscent of other Kar-Wai films in that it repeats often, gets hammered into your head and is something you welcome to have hammered into your head. I'm really not sure where to go from here. It's a great movie that comes with a high recommendation. It's a great intro to Kar-Wai and would work really well in a triple feature with "Happy Together" and "In the Mood for Love" - the other two films from THE BOOK. Now I just have to delve into some more of his work and hope it's as good.

RATING: 8/10  We'll play it safe with an '8', but don't let that fool 'ya, as I could see this one growing on me even more and nabbing that '10'. I will say that I liked "Happy Together" better than this, but liked "Chungking Express" better than "In the Mood for Love".

MOVIES WATCHED: 747
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 254

October 24, 2013  12:12pm

914. Cheun gwong tsa sit/Happy Together (1997)

Running Time: 97 minutes
Directed By: Wong Kar-Wai
Written By: Wong Kar-Wai
Main Cast: Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Leslie Cheung, Chen Chang
Click here to view the trailer

"I CAN'T SEE ME LOVIN' NOBODY BUT YOU..."

Just so everyone's aware, I had myself a nice, little four day weekend this week, which is why I've been able to bang out these movies so quickly. I'm back to work tomorrow and therefore, the pace my lessen. Also, while we're on the subject of my work schedule, I USUALLY work at 7am and get home around 4pm. What I usually end up doing is watching movies at night, after my wife goes to bed and writing the reviews the following day, when I get home from work. Don't think I've ever specified the details of my schedule before...Anyway...

Caught "Happy Together" this morning via the streaming portion of Netflix. The film is directed by Wong Kar-Wai ("In the Mood for Love") and tells the story of a gay couple, on vacation in Argentina, trying to sort out their relationship and "start over". It's a rocky relationship. There's definitely love there, but with the love comes a fair share of arguments, fights and disagreements. There's the more responsible Lai Yiu-fai (Leung) and the more flamboyant, childish Ho-Po Wing (Cheung). Once in Argentina, they plan to see Iguazu waterfalls together, but they break up before they make it there. Fai settles in Buenos Aires, where he gets a job at a nightclub. One evening, Ho visits the nightclub and memories are dredged back up. Ho has a new boyfriend and Fai, still not healed from the break-up, is forced to deal with an overflow of emotion all over again. After a while, the two begin talking and it becomes apparent that Ho's new boyfriend is abusive. One evening, Ho shows up at Fai's door, severely beaten and Fai can't help but help him. At the hospital, Ho's hands are bandaged to the point where he must rely on Fai to help him with everything. Ho stays with Fai at his dingy little apartment and Ho is hopeful that the two can, once again, start over. Fai stays strong and resists the temptations of Ho, however. Fai eventually gets a job at a restaurant where he meets Chang (Chang), a straight man who becomes a good friend.

"Open Your Eyes' was really good and "Return of the Jedi" and "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" were good enough, but finally something stellar comes along this season, after watching eleven movies. Of course, I'm talking about this movie - "Happy Together" - an absolutely fantastic piece of work by a director who's proving he's worthy of me keeping my eyes on - Wong Kar-Wai. I'll even say that this is EASILY better than my last viewing of a Kar-Wai film, "In the Mood for Love" (which landed on the "Ten Worth Mentioning" section of my last TOP 20 list). It's might be hard for me to explain why I actually took to this movie so well, but I promise to try my best. As movie fanatics, we all know that wonderful feeling we get when we're watching something we really like. That feeling, where we're able to detach ourselves from the dialogue and action for just a millisecond, long enough to say to ourselves, "This is REALLY good". If you've seen a lot of movie and if you're picky, like me, then you know that feeling doesn't come along THAT often and when it does, it's one of the greatest feelings a movie fan can experience. It's the special feeling of seeing a movie that you just know is going to become a favorite, that you just know you're going to see dozens and dozens more times, for the first time. It's one of those movies that makes you want to consume as many more movies as you can possibly find, so that you can experience that feeling all over again and hopefully find another one and another one. "Happy Together" gave me all of these feelings.

The film was beautifully shot, flawlessly scripted, perfectly cast, provided a unique mood/atmosphere and transcended cultural barriers. It doesn't matter where you live, be it Hong Kong, Argentina, Pennsylvania, London, British Columbia or Los Angeles, this is a movie that didn't speak to a certain cultural consortium, but rather spoke to everyone, because we could all relate to the characters. Within literally minutes, Wong Kar-Wai forced us to care for these characters as if they were our personal friends, made it easy for us to feel their pain and relate to their situations. We understood every tear that our characters shed, every smile they cracked and just by looking at the faces and listening to the perfectly scored notes, we could feel every sad thought and disappointed reaction. We've all been in relationships, most of us know what it's like to have our hearts broken and even if you've never been involved in a bad, argumentative relationship, you've been privy to one and those feelings and actions are very familiar. "Happy Together" puts those feelings, reactions, actions and emotions to film flawlessly.

I'm glad that Wong Kar-Wai didn't harp on the gay thing too much, like "Brokeback Mountain" did, for instance. In Ang Lee's movie the fact that the two men were gay was half the story, whereas in Kar-Wai's picture, it's never really brought up. We just happen to be watching a film about a relationship, where the two members of said relationship happen to be both men. Speaking of the two men, how amazing is Tony Leung? I've only seen two movies with the guy and already I'm prepared to put him on a list with the rest of my favorite actors. He's too good to be true, yet he is true; pouring out true emotion after true emotion and playing it all so perfectly. The score was great too and I love how Kar-Wai always seems to pick a certain theme for his movies and allows it to play over and over (like "In the Mood for Love"). I really can't wait to see the rest of his filmography after watching this and I can say that "Happy Together" is definitely a "must see" movie. See it...now.

RATING: 10/10  Finally a big '10' and I can tell you now that until something better comes along, THIS is the #1 spot of my next TOP 20...hands down.

MOVIES WATCHED: 712
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 289

August 11, 2013  4:46pm

948. Dut yeung nin wa/In the Mood for Love (2000)

Running Time: 98 minutes
Directed By: Wong Kar-Wai
Written By: Wong Kar-Wai
Main Cast: Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung, Siu Ping Lam, Rebecca Pan, Lai Chen
Click here to view the trailer

UNRELATIONS

The first time I saw "In the Mood for Love" I gave it a '4/10'. Of course, you should also be informed that I'd just returned from the dentist, from having a root canal and that could have played a part in my grumpy demeanor and ultimately lackluster opinion of this 2000 Wong Kar-Wai film.

The film is set in the 1960s (1962, I believe) and begins with a meeting between Mrs. Chan (Cheung) and a landlady that she plans to rent off of, Mrs. Suen (Pan). They seal the deal over a bevy of pleasantries and as Mrs. Chan steps out, Mr. Chow steps in and asks if Mrs. Suen has a room for rent. She says that it's just been rented, but right next door there's another room for rent and so Mr. Chow takes that. Both Mrs. Chan and Mr. Chow are married; Mrs. Chan's husband is away on business and Mrs. Chow works long hours at her job. After a while of living in the same tenement house, Mrs. Chan and Mr. Chow begin to suspect their respective spouses of infidelity. They meet at a restaurant and after exchanging some pleasant conversation, they surmise that, yes indeed, their spouses are cheating on them and with each other. At first, they want to know how it got started, so they begin to meet and roleplay what their respective spouses must've said to one another to get the ball rolling on a sexual relationship, even going so far as to dine together, with Mrs. Chan eating what Mrs. Chow would normally eat and Mr. Chow eating what Mr. Chan would normally eat. They decide that despite the time they spend together, they're not going to become like their spouses and vow not to submit to the temptations of infidelity. They continue to spend time together and Mr. Chow even moves out, to another apartment building, so that all the time he spends with Mrs. Chan doesn't start to arouse suspicion. 

THE BOOK is quick to note that when you think "In the Mood for Love" is going to zag left, if zigs right. It's not your run of the mill movie and it's next to impossible to deduce whats going to happen, from one moment to the next. The characters are a little on the odd side, or is it the whole picture that just has an outer-worldly feel to it and the characters are perfectly normal? I don't know exactly. What I do know is that I liked it a lot more than I did on that day, following my root canal and it certainly intrigued me more than anything. The film is a living, breathing poem committed to celluloid and it's such a beautiful picture that it was really hard for me to dislike it. Literally every aspect, except for the story itself, is perfect: The music is spot on, utilizing a Nat King Cole song ("Quizas, Quizas, Quizas") and a waltz (Yumeji's theme) to maximum effect. The photography is great, as literally EVERY SINGLE shot seems to be plotted and planned before they even turned the camera on, making sure that every single frame in the film was flawless. The atmosphere and mood were great and personally pleasing. The acting is spot on, as Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung have a really good chemistry. It's just that the story is told in a way that isn't conventional and therefore it's a little harder to adapt to.

I used to think I liked films that used unconventional tactics, but as I grow older, I'm realizing that I'm more of a traditionalist when it comes to my movies. I don't mind filmmaker's going a little off the beaten path, but make sure your story definitely calls for that. I felt that this was an original, genuine enough story to hold its own merits and didn't need the tricky character reactions and unconventional tactics. Anyway, I'm going to keep stewing this one over in my head and come to a definitive opinion by TOP 20 time. I'm not sure how it will fair, but for now, having read back over what I wrote, I can say that my opinion isn't set in stone yet.

RATING: 7/10  It's at least a '7' and honestly, this is the type of movie that begs for a re-watch. Also, with the watching of "In the Mood for Love", I've officially finished the 21st Century!! Hooray!

MOVIES WATCHED: 673
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 328

ON DECK
L'Atalante (1934 - Jean Vigo)
How Green Was My Vally (1941 - John Ford)
Ossessione (1943 - Luchino Visconti)
Meet Me in St. Louis (1944 - Vincente Minnelli)
Laura (1944 - Preminger, Mamoulian)

May 2, 2013  8:32pm