The first Wong Kar-Wai movie to make an impression on North American audiences (the Miramax release was sponsored by Quentin Tarantino), Chungking Express is a fast, fluid, almost throwaway picture set in contemporary Hong Kong, and comprising two simple, short story-like through-lines involving lovelorn policemen.

It was this smaller film that made Wong’s name in the West. After the studied inertia of Days of Being Wild, Chungking is a frenetic visual blur that’s been likened to an action painting. Still the prevailing tone is wistful melancholy: even a cop’s ragged dishcloth joins in the tears.

Before the movie (102 minutes) Chen Baker will get us in the mood for love with their brand of Canto pop. Chen Baker is a group of seasoned musicians who frequently present jazz-influenced interpretations of Asian pop music, including mandopop and Japanese city pop. On July 12, they’ll be returning to VIFF, pairing their performance with a screening of Chungking Express. To complement the film, they will be covering and reimagining Cantonese pop music from the 80s to early 2000s, in addition to songs from the Chungking Express soundtrack. Alvin Fung (vocals, guitar) Jeffery Chen (guitar) Brittany Or (keyboard) Alex Cheng (bass) Dario Acosta (drums)

Chen Baker: 7:00 pm
Chungking Express: 8:15 pm approx (102 min)

This is what Godard movies were once like: fast, hand-held, funny and very, very catchy.

Tony Rayns, Time Out

Wong Kar-Wai’s Chungking Express is as fresh as falling rain, a pair of love stories full of pain and humor.

Kevin Thomas, LA Times

Chungking Express gets by and gets off on sheer innocence, exuberance, and cinematic freedom, a striking triumph of style over substance that give life to the grunge and chaos at the heart of contemporary Hong Kong.

Joshua Klein, 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

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