Who payed the critics

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

This movie is beautiful. But since I didn't know the exact story(I don't like to read plots) I kept waiting till the and for the policeman 223. Because I liked his story more. It was so sad that I wish it was not left half finished. And again since I didn't know the plot I taught Faye was the blonde haired girl. Which was my mistake. I watched the whole movie saying "How come those girls are same? They might look similar but she is such a high spirited now, besides how dangerous and a bad woman she was at first." Ugh! I think this happened because I wasn't used to Wong Kar Wai's movie style. So should watch again, knowing that this is a very different movie this time.

Taking an incoherent story and bathing it in an orange glow isn't art. I bet if I worked the phones right now I could find someone who has better-looking video of Hong Kong shot off their iPhone.That twerp is a cop like I'm Baretta. Am I supposed to be entertained watching him eat every five minutes?The woman in the wig and sunglasses? Are we supposed to care about her or what she's up to?If this is what passed for a good movie at Cannes in the 90s then the 90s should be packaged into a rocket and shot into space. Book extra seats for the Cannes judges.Just dreadful.

I love Chungking Express.If you're into a movie for pro-forma plot line or how fast a car goes in Fast and the Furious or how many people are chomped on by dinosaurs, then Chungking Express isn't for you.Chungking Express is a movie to be experienced, to be savoured, to be enjoyed. Maybe it's because I've been to Hong Kong a few times and it's amazing seeing the sights incorporated into Wong Kar-Wai's vision and Christopher Doyle's cinematography.The ending was bittersweet but I loved the Cantonese rendition of a famous Cranberries hit.The atmosphere of Chungking Express is pure Wong Kar-Wai - congratulations on a top movie.

I watched this movie as one of a group of 5. Of these, 3 would have gladly turned it off after 30 minutes and 2 thought it was outstanding. Evidently this film, or more precisely, this style of film, is not everyone's cup of tea.The movie is somewhat confusing in that it is actually two movies within one. The first, shorter "movielet" involves a policeman who is pining for his recently deceased relationship with a woman we never see. In parallel with this we see a drug deal gone wrong, in which the central character is an Asian woman perpetually wearing a blonde wig, raincoat and sunglasses. These two stories intersect towards the end as the policeman and the woman meet in a bar. The story, if there is one, ends with policeman at a shabby takeaway, which may or may not be the "Chungking Express".This is where the "tag" takes place, the first "movielet" steps out of the ring, and the new one steps in. If you don't realise this you're in big trouble, for now we have a whole new story without really knowing that the first one has finished or even understanding what it was about. It is a bit of a grunchy and unexpected gear shift to a related but different world. The second and much longer story involves the new employee at the takeaway, a very boyish looking girl called Faye, and a second policeman, someone we only know by his number, "633", who is also recovering from a relationship breakup. Thereafter follows a very sutble and utterly disarming dance between Faye and 633 as they get to know each other. The character of Faye is played by Faye Wong who I had never heard of but on further research find is a living legend in HK, China and Japan. I can find no words that adequately do justice to her performance, she is simply spellbinding. One of the other viewers compared her character to that of Audrey Tattou's Amelie, and this is true to some extent. Both Amelie and Faye are "quirky' characters but whereas Amelie portrays hers through facial gestures, and the intentions of her quirky actions have very specific goals, Faye's quirkiness is completely random - she's quirky for no other reason than that's who she is and it is sheer magic to behold. There are many, many truly touching and drolly amusing moments which may not make you split your sides laughing but keep you smiling gently all the way through. It is a very subtle, real, everyday, slightly off-the-wall humour that leaves you with a luminous feeling of warmth. I mean, how many movies have you seen lately in which the main character has deep and meaningful discussions with his dish cloth? Basically I'm gobsmacked at yet another example of the subtlety and nuance Asian directors can bring to a movie, and their ability to conjure so much from so little. It is really a kind of magic that has been lost, or maybe never existed, in the West.Apparently this movie was a side project made in 23 days, with the script written as they went along. Many would say that this shows. While it is difficult to call any movie that was conceived under these conditions and which was basically a "throwaway" to fill in time a masterpiece, it really is an extraordinary achievement. Does it have a story? Well, sort of but not really. Did it have an "ending". I think so. Do I feel better for having seen it? Oh, yes. Will I watch anything with Faye Wong in it again? You bet! Not for everyone, if you're after explosions, car crashes and a story, sit this one out. As for me I'm giving it 8.