"Chungking Express" (1994)

Director Wong Kar-Wai's stylish and intoxicating mood piece film-making reached its fullest expression, up to that point, in Chungking Express. Wong's previous efforts, As Tears Go By and Days of Being Wild, feel like they were just dry runs; Wong proved he had talent, but those films didn't have as crystaline a vision as Express. Express is deliriously, palpably dripping with longing and sexual desire. Everything about the film is in the name of sensuous pleasure: the precise camera placement, the atmosphere, the dazzling color scheme, the lingering emotional suggestion. The film has a plot (about two heartbroken cops coping with their loss and falling into new, strange holding patterns and relationships), but discussing the plot fails to capture what make Express so erotically charged. The film is ennui wrapped up in sexual tension. It's a slow burn, and the film is interested in exuding a time and a place, and giving us a direct understanding and identification with the youthful listlessness of its characters. But it's the novelty by which Wong does this that really makes it stand out; the longing is so specifically rooted in its characters psyche, as if it's a character study by way of mood piece. The sensuality is so strong that it lingers long after the screening, clinging to the back of your mind and making you long just a little bit yourself.

Grade: ★★★