In his sensitive comedy-drama âChungking Expressâ (1994), director Wong Kar-wai uses stunning visuals, layered dialogue, and a unique narrative structure to challenge the boundaries of time and the imagination. It is undeniable that Wongâs film is breathtaking; some may even argue that it borders on the creation of its own cinematic genre. However, despite its revolutionary vision, Wong s excessive abstraction often renders his film aimless and ungrounded.
âChungking Expressâ is structured around two consecutive stories which both follow post-breakup copsâ encounters with mysterious strangers. Though thought-provoking, this unique narrative structure often does more to obscure than to illuminate. The first story focuses on a cop named He Zhiwu (Takeshi Kaneshiro) who, devastated following a break-up, seeks new love and meets a mysterious woman in a blonde wig (Brigitte Lin) at a bar. The second story, which follows a cop referred to simply by his badge