[FIELDWORK] CHUNGKING EXPRESS, CHUNGKING MANSION

CHUNGKING EXPRESS, DIR. WANG KAR WAI (1974)           

CHUNGKING MANSION, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong

The Chungking Express is a romantic film directed by Wong Kar Wai in 1994. It mainly describes two love stories that happened in Hong Kong, including the story between a lovesick policeman and a mysterious female woman, as well as the story between a police officer and a server in a snack bar. Most of the sceneries were set up in Chungking Mansion. And when Chungking Mansion is mentioned, the key words that come to people’s mind are very negative, such as rape, murder, and insecurity. However, the director insisted to use this place as the filming location. In fact, Chungking Mansion definitely plays an important role in the movie.

At the beginning of the movie, the woman with blonde wig is running across the Chungking Mansion. With her footsteps and the shaking camera, you can see the cramped and dark environment of the Mansion, as well as people of different races, especially the South Asian population. When the protagonist Qiwu chases criminals in Chungking Mansions, the shots of messy escalators, filthy electronic stores, street stalls with piles of vegetables, and noisy music describe the real Hong Kong at that time.

The internal environment of Chungking Mansion in Chungking Express

In reality, Chungking Mansion consists of five blocks with mixed uses including shopping and residence. Most people living now are still foreigners, including Indian and Pakistani. The exterior wall of the building was renovated in 2011. You may even ignore the building when you pass through. Moreover, the space is not as narrow as l expected. The goods are neatly placed on the shelves. The environment is also brighter and more ordered than that in the film. In the film, the director used the rapid movement of the camera lens to show the narrowness and darkness. The lighting and color tone will also make people feel that Chungking Mansion is a mysterious and scary place.

The exterior and interior of Chungking Mansion in reality in 2022.

In the movie, there is a very classic line: “Every day you have chances to pass through others, and you may know nothing about her, but she will become your friends or confidants one day.” The Chungking Mansion under Wong Kar Wai’s lens is dim, decrepit, and crowded with people, but it also creates ambiguous atmosphere for a romantic encounter. In this place, we never know what kind of people we will meet. Only in this building, the police can fall in love with a drug smuggler. The complex environment can incorporate more complex relationship and more possibilities of affection. It is this violent and tense environment reflects the warmth and beauty of love. Meanwhile, it shows the eager of the characters to escape from the isolated space to pursue freedom.¹

Many people in Hong Kong have some prejudice against South Asians. Therefore, Chungking Mansion seems to be isolated from the city. The loneliness and discrimination are hidden in it. In the documentary filmed by Japan’s NHK, the arrested homeless people will eventually come back to Chungking Mansion because it is their only home. ² Under Wong Kar Wai’s fragmentation and collage, the emotional dissociation, confusion, and loneliness, and the wandering of people in Hong Kongare shown. The complex environment in the building also implies the imperfect ending of the story.

— Xu Shuhan, 3035603643

Notes

1 Kate Whitehead, “Chungking Express: What Makes Wong Kar Wai’s 1994 Film Great,” South China Morning Post,January 27, 2022, https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-entertainment/article/1270888/rewind-film-chungking-express-directed-wong-kar-wai.

2 Jieju Zheng, “The Real Hong Kong in Chungking Mansions: Mansion Turned into a Slum, an Alternative Island in the Center of the World,” youwuqiong, 2020, https://youwuqiong-top.translate.goog/183676.html