![chungking express music chungking express music](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/n7RQxZogo0I/maxresdefault.jpg)
Wong Kar-wai’s cinematography is amazing. I think the fantasy of a utopia where everybody is able to understand each other regardless of language is something really beautiful, and makes the romance that blossoms in Wong Kar-wai’s films feel a little more special. Wong Kar-Wai’s films like Chungking Express and 2046 feature an element that is little remarked-upon in the West: in them, Cantonese-speaking and Mandarin-speaking actors address and answer one another in perfect comprehension without skipping a beat, a kind of radical utopianism, a fantasy of a world in which Chinese people can all get along in perfect understanding.Īs a Chinese-born Canadian who can just get by understanding simple Cantonese and can barely understand Mandarin, there’s always been that desire to be able to learn more of my mother tongue. Interestingly, the only answer I could find on this online was from China Film Insider, who noted:
![chungking express music chungking express music](https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1a8I3XorrK1RkSne1q6ArVVXaA/chungking-express-music-film-T-shirt-Cotton-Men-T-shirt-New-Women-Summer-Tee.jpg)
In film class, we learn that there’s always a purpose behind everything shown within a frame, so what was the meaning behind having multiple languages be present? I thought it might have been Wong Kar-wai’s desire to portray the underlying political tensions that existed in the culture of Hong Kong, as in 1997, the sovereignty of Hong Kong was returned to China from Britain. In a handful of Wong Kar-wai’s movies, some of the characters speak English and Japanese as well, or even speak all 4 languages, like in this clip from Chungking Express. Going into Wong Kar-wai’s movies, I expected that they were all going to be in Cantonese, but was pretty surprised, and somewhat confused, when one character would speak Cantonese, only for another character to reply in Mandarin.
![chungking express music chungking express music](https://cdn.britannica.com/07/212707-050-098B3CF7/Movie-still-Faye-Wong-Chunghing-Samlam-Chunking-Express-1994.jpg)
![chungking express music chungking express music](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/56145ff1250ff5b3ffadb0e3f4c978d492439e54039356d0ca6d2726fa0f9c78/chungkingexpress.jpg)
Since watching his movies, I can’t listen to California Dreamin’without imagining Faye Wong joyfully dancing to the beat, just like in the gif above. Wong uses music not only to build atmosphere, but to create an experience, picking songs that are popular, catchy and can evoke feelings, almost as if we’re there with the characters experiencing those uplifting or melancholy feelings of love.
#Chungking express music movie
Music is such an integral part of the majority of Wong Kar-wai’s films, often with one or two tracks being played throughout multiple scenes, to the point where the songs he uses and the movie become inseparable. However, instead of going over story beats, I want to focus on the aspects of the director’s style that drew me to his films. My absolute favorite Wong Kar-wai film, Chungking Express (1994), displays the director at his best, and consists of two love stories, each featuring lovesick cops going through breakups, only to encounter someone new. Recently I’ve been wanting to immerse myself in Hong Kong cinema, and decided to start with the works of auteur Wong Kar-wai, whose filmography often involves itself with themes of romance, vivid colours, and atmospheric music.