Screen/Society--AMI Showcase: Christopher Doyle Retrospective--"Chungking Express"

Film Screening: "Chungking Express" (Wong Kar Wai, 1994, 98 min, Hong Kong, Cantonese, English, Japanese, Hindi, Mandarin with English subtitles, color, BluRay) -- "Chungking Express" is among Wong Kar Wai's most exciting films, and an early precursor to the expressive odes to romantic longing that have come to define his work. The film consists of two stories told in sequence. The first stars Takeshi Kaneshiro as a cop obsessing over his break-up with a woman named May and his encounter with a mysterious drug smuggler (Brigitte Lin). The second stars Tony Leung as a police officer who is roused from his gloom over the loss of his flight attendant girlfriend by the attentions of a quirky snack bar worker (Faye Wong). Director Wong Kar Wai and cinematographer Christopher Doyle create a hazy, dreamlike world that, through stylistic techniques like slow motion and step printing, heighten the tension of the officers' romantic desires. -- Winner for Best Picture/Director/Actor/Editing at the 1995 Hong Kong Film Awards! -- Screening made possible by support from the Mary Duke Biddle Foundation.