Chungking Express: The Role of Hong Kong City in the Plot The movie “Chunking Express” which was written and directed by Wong Kar Wai is a romance/drama film produced in 1994. The plot within the movie tells of two stories which are shown in sequence (“Chunking Express” n.p). Each story features a troubled relationship of a Hong Kong police officer. In the first story, the film focuses on Cop 223 (He Qiwu), the obsession he bears of his broken relationship with May as well as the platonic encounter he experiences with a mysterious drug smuggler. In the second story, Cop 663 is roused from a gloomy spell by Faye, after his recent breakup with his flight attendant girlfriend (“Chunking Express” n.p). In “Chungking Express”, the city of Hong Kong is not just used as a backdrop, but it is actively engaged and portrayed to forward the plot in more ways than one.
History of the city and the movie at the time of production Hong Kong city was in the process of change at the time the film was being made. As the city moved ever closer to the millennium, it was also gearing towards another eventful moment in history; the city’s handover to china which happened in 1997. With so many possibilities for …show more content…
During the time portrayed in the film, average Hong Kong citizens had little control if any at all, in regards to their future. The least they could do was come up with enough savings that would facilitate an escape from the island in the eventuality that they could not handle the change in power. Much like the characters in “Chunking Express”, the people were very desperate at the time. As it appears, the characters in the film were actually made so as to reflect the mentality of the people in Hong Kong. Furthermore it is plausible to deduce that the film implicitly addresses the handover of Hong Kong to China by the
History of the city and the movie at the time of production Hong Kong city was in the process of change at the time the film was being made. As the city moved ever closer to the millennium, it was also gearing towards another eventful moment in history; the city’s handover to china which happened in 1997. With so many possibilities for …show more content…
During the time portrayed in the film, average Hong Kong citizens had little control if any at all, in regards to their future. The least they could do was come up with enough savings that would facilitate an escape from the island in the eventuality that they could not handle the change in power. Much like the characters in “Chunking Express”, the people were very desperate at the time. As it appears, the characters in the film were actually made so as to reflect the mentality of the people in Hong Kong. Furthermore it is plausible to deduce that the film implicitly addresses the handover of Hong Kong to China by the