Kar Wai Wong is an exceptional director; his movies are odd yet poetic at the same time. Upon watching Chungking Express I have found a similar pattern among all his films. They all examine the subject of loneliness.
At first watch it may not pop out immediately, but if rewatching those movies it becomes brighter how each character is "trapped" in their own world, longing for a close person to relate with.
In the mood for Love, two neighbors share a platonic relationship after discovering their spouses are cheating on them. They do not have a relationship beyond their status from the fear of being betrayed again. Hence both are a bit cold and restrained.
In Fallen Angles, every main character has their own thing going on, no one is trying to create a relationship with the other for one reason or another. Hence all the characters are lonely - they like being in their own world.
Same pattern is followed in Chungking Express, the characters are "stuck" in their own world, while some are more active in the story and try to initiate a conversation with the other. For instance, in Story 1; Cop 223 (Takeshi Kaneshiro) is interested in the woman in Blonde Wig (Brigitte Lin) while the other is passive and disinterested.
In story 2; Faye (Faye Wong) is more interested in a relationship with Cop 663 (Tony Leung) and goes lengths to make his house cleaner. Yet she doesn't ask him out nor initiates contact with him. Another example of how Kar Wai Wong's world is filled with characters who are trapped in their own worlds and lonely.
I highly recommend to all cinephiles out there to watch Kar Wai Wong movies and be exposed to different kind of cinema. The one that isn't well known or taught in film class. Try to be exposed to the odd kind of movies in his making and learn from them something new.
At first watch it may not pop out immediately, but if rewatching those movies it becomes brighter how each character is "trapped" in their own world, longing for a close person to relate with.
In the mood for Love, two neighbors share a platonic relationship after discovering their spouses are cheating on them. They do not have a relationship beyond their status from the fear of being betrayed again. Hence both are a bit cold and restrained.
In Fallen Angles, every main character has their own thing going on, no one is trying to create a relationship with the other for one reason or another. Hence all the characters are lonely - they like being in their own world.
Same pattern is followed in Chungking Express, the characters are "stuck" in their own world, while some are more active in the story and try to initiate a conversation with the other. For instance, in Story 1; Cop 223 (Takeshi Kaneshiro) is interested in the woman in Blonde Wig (Brigitte Lin) while the other is passive and disinterested.
In story 2; Faye (Faye Wong) is more interested in a relationship with Cop 663 (Tony Leung) and goes lengths to make his house cleaner. Yet she doesn't ask him out nor initiates contact with him. Another example of how Kar Wai Wong's world is filled with characters who are trapped in their own worlds and lonely.
I highly recommend to all cinephiles out there to watch Kar Wai Wong movies and be exposed to different kind of cinema. The one that isn't well known or taught in film class. Try to be exposed to the odd kind of movies in his making and learn from them something new.