TNL Movie Club - Chungking Express

[ssbomberman]

Saw this one in high school at a time when I was obsessed with Hong Kong action films. Never even knew Hong Kong made films like this and it blew my mind. Still one of my favorite films to this day. It's MTV meets New Wave French with awesome actors and 2 great stories.

Some of you will probably hate it, but it's definitely the least pretentious of Wong Kar Wai's work, so give it a go and discuss!

[Dunlap]

I'm in love with Faye Wong.

California Dreeeeamin'!

[Survival Kid]

This was a really good movie, though I liked Fallen Angels more.

[Riptwo]

I'm more into Fallen Angels too, but this movie was pretty wild. I can't listen to California Dreaming without having a flashback to it. Takeshi Kaneshiro also kicks ass, and his performances in Chungking Express/Fallen Angels led me to track down The Odd One Dies, which may be my favourite HK movie of all time.

[Josh]

It's MTV

This does not make me want to watch it.

[Rumpy]

Sounds good, I'll get it this week.

[Survival Kid]

This does not make me want to watch it.

It's not MTV though. I don't know where the fuck he was coming from with that shit.

[ssbomberman]

lol...let me explain -- early MTV -- as in cutting edge, MTV video style pop imagery. I mean Faye even does a cover of the cranberries song for the movie. Let me rephrase it a bit -- it's very music video meets French New Wave to me...but I'm cool with it not being that for most of you, as long as you check it out...

[YellerDog]

So MTV circa 1990, is that what you're saying?


Update your terms, sir.

[Scourge]

I'm a HUUUUUGE fan of stuff like this. I don't think you could make a movie more geared toward me, seriously. Asian films depicting daily life in whatever situation, I have a fetish for, a fetish which grows exponentially when food is even peripherally involved, and there's a noodle house here. The fact that this is also a love story makes all of that over the top because I'm such a total sap.

All that being said, I tried twice to watch this movie when it first came out on vhs and found it boring and uninvolving. Granted, that was a looong time ago and I should give it another chance, but shit, I tried twice. Twice!

I'd put it down to lack of taste or discrimination for artsy stuff at the time because I was a twenty-something prick, but at the time I was drooling all over movies like Raise the Red Lantern and Eat Drink Man Woman, and a ton of other Asian movies of high regard, so who knows...

Speaking of Eat Drink Man Woman, you guys really need to watch that for this club because it's just all around enjoyable and fairly light fare.