Chungking Express

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Chungking Express

PG-13

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1h 43m

Comedy

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Popcornmeter

89%

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70 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 cafe, a waitress (Faye Wong) lets herself into his apartment and spruces up his life.

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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

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

Apr 10, 2018

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Jeff Shannon

Seattle Times

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.

Rated: 3/4

May 28, 2014

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Peter Travers

Rolling Stone

[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.

May 28, 2014

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Mattie Lucas

trans|cendental cinema

A haunting portrait of timely and timeless longing.

Rated: 4/4

Apr 17, 2025

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Joshua Polanski

Boston Hassle

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

Jul 18, 2024

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Tim Brayton

Alternate Ending

One of the greatest treasures of 1990s filmmaking.

Rated: 5/5

Mar 30, 2023

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ulyssesmovieblog b

Chungking Express offers the audience a poetic journey through the world of “lost” characters.Wong Kar-wai rejects the traditional narrative and makes the audience a partner in the emotional turmoil of the characters. Do you think Faye had the right to enter Cop 663’s house and change his life? for detail reviews: https://ulyssesmovieblog.com/one-city-two-stories-endless-melancholy-chungking-express/

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/10/25

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Christian K

The vibes throughout and the first half of this are an all timer, some really incredible framing and direction.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

05/14/25

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aaron s

Total garbage. First half of the movie just ends abruptly like the director decided to start over and make a new movie half way through. Second half: Shallow undeveloped characters, with unrealistic reactions. the girl is immature, and totally weird, i think has adhd or something. She sneaks into the cop's flat and starts cleaning/ changing things. When he finds out his stuff is all different there is no reaction. He's not even shocked. Later when they get together, he asks her to meet at 8. She doesn't turn up instead she disappears for a year and explains she actually did turn up but at the wrong time, she was there at 7.15 then left for some reason. (The cop doesn't react) I guess it would be too easy if they hooked up right away so she left him a note and he decided not to open it for a year when she returned anyway.. the plot is so dumb if you think about it for more than 2 seconds.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

04/17/25

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Leprechaun K

One of WKW's best. "Do you like Pineapple"?

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/11/25

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Audience Member

The perfect visual of the human experience of not getting what you want or need!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/18/25

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Fer S

It started very well and after 40 minutes it became absolutely pointless. Waste of time. Nice cinematography though.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

12/11/24

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Kar-Wai Wong

Director

Brigitte Lin

Woman in Blonde Wig

Takeshi Kaneshiro

He Zhiwu, Cop 223

Tony Leung Chiu Wai

Cop 663

Faye Wong

Faye

Valerie Chow

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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 cafe, 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
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

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