"Actually, really knowing someone doesn't mean anything. People change. A person may like pineapple today and something else tomorrow."
Written and directed by Wong Kar-wai. 1994.
Time, expiration, dreams, and rejuvenation are central themes in Chungking Express. Here, the men are trapped in the past; even though one walks a beat and the other jogs obsessively, they're hopeless layabouts. The girls, however, they're the dreamers; one is enterprising, the other always moving, dancing, looking up. In these sad, funny pairings, Wong suggests it takes at least two people to save just one. This hope, this optimism -- so buoyant here, unlike his other work -- is just one of the reasons he really does live up to the title "most romantic filmmaker in the world." I forget who called him that. Doesn't matter. Good pick for Valentine's Day.
