Released in 1994, Chungking Express is considered a pivotal piece in the repertoire of director Wong Kar-Wai and of ‘90s cinema as a whole. Following the lives of three main characters– He Qiwu, Faye, and Cop 663– against the backdrop of bustling Hong Kong, the enigmatic film pieces together the storyline of two similar yet distinct tales of heartbreak and healing. Built with unconventional craftsmanship dotted with hypnotizing aesthetics, symbolism, and a non-linear narrative, Chungking Express paved the way for Hong Kong cinema to enter the international spotlight. Ultimately, in films like Chungking Express, Sontag’s arguments in “Against Interpretation” can be observed where the culmination of the film’s varied forms to express a single concept of love and anti-mimetic qualities suggest that art’s true value lies in its form rather than pure content. This alignment is nuanced though, as the meta-insertion of other artworks in Chungking Express concurrently challenges Sontag’s principles and displays the power of symbolism.
Firstly, Chungking Express’ ability to depict three mixed aspects of love with the same overarching subject and storyline proves that content is an inadequate measurement of the work’s value. Instead, the film relies more heavily on its unique forms to leave a lasting impression on its audience and avoid the discontentment of interpretation. Towards the end of her essay, Sontag argues that “cinema, unlike the novel, possesses a vocabulary of forms—the explicit, complex, and discussable technology of camera movements, cutting, and composition of the frame that goes into the making of a film” (8). Undeniably, it is this “vocabulary of forms” that make the unique visuals of Chungking Express so captivating. In fact, Wong Kar-Wai tells much of the film’s content through the perspectives of the characters, strategically using tools like first-person narration and time shifts to set up individualized lenses. This idea is best visualized by the differences between the first and second love stories before they converge into healing. While He Qiwu’s breakup is presented through wistful anecdotes of their time together and regretful desires, the audience never gets to see either his memories or the May he continues to dream of. It is only in the flashing memories and given visuals of Cop 663’s ex-lover can the viewers directly experience real love between two individuals. Revisiting Sontag’s essay, the writer similarly states that “in good films, there is always a directness that entirely frees us from the itch to interpret” (8). By providing his audience with the visual imagery of Cop 663’s ex-lover, Wong Kar-Wai allows the audience to “direct[ly]” feel and understand the fleeting love they sustained rather than giving leeway for us to speculate that He Qiwu’s love was only one-sided in the absence of May’s image. In essence, Wong Kar-Wai draws in his viewers through form-established perspectives, revealing the three-pronged facets hidden beneath the carpet of content: unrequited, fleeting, and rediscovered love. While content alone may divulge the theme of love, it is only with form that these dimensions may be molded and solidified free of interpretation’s hold.
Similarly, the stylistic inclusion of the song “California Dreamin’” throughout the film brings Sontag’s argument against mimesis into agreement. Unlike many other films, Wong Kar-Wai often chooses to play the song not as an after-effect-added soundtrack but as a piece of audio filmed within the actual scenes, providing a layer of corporeality in regards to its characters. For example, Cop 663 points out how loud the music is and asks how it doesn’t bother Faye at all while she works at the snack stand, displaying the tangibility and realness of the song to the characters. In response, Faye just dances along as she always seems to do each time the song makes an appearance in her scenes: “see[ing], hear[ing], and feel[ing]” the music despite the stark contrast to her reality (Sontag 10). That is, while the lyrics are in a different language and the end destination of California is one far away from her current Hong Kong, Faye’s unlikely ability to identify with the song proves that art’s value is not in mimesis: the reflection of reality. Instead, “California Dreamin’” and Chungking Express’ merits are found in their direct forms that move their audiences and leave lasting impacts.
Contrastingly, not all of Sontag’s ideas are fully aligned with Chungking Express. Most notably, while Sontag asserts that film is devoid of symbolization, the recurring inclusion of “California Dreamin’” by the Mamas and Papas demonstrates the potential of symbolism to aid in form’s raw hold on its viewers. After all, from start to finish, the theme song is repeated a total of eight times. Paired with its escapist lyrics and nostalgic yet catchy melody, the audience quickly begins to associate the song with a longing for change. With each commencement, “California Dreamin’” is then able to generate a visceral reaction within the viewer, establishing itself as a symbol of hopeful beginnings within an otherwise stagnant and melancholic plot. Therefore, while Sontag maintains that “good films… have [a] liberating antisymbolic quality,” this is evidently not the entire truth (8). Alternatively, the embedding of this secondary artform within Chungking Express acts as an extension of the film’s form, allowing form to build up value through symbolic significance rather than “antisymbolic[ism].” Both disproving and approving of Sontag’s belief, the piece within a piece, the lucid appeal to the senses within another, “California Dreamin’” within Chungking Express ultimately becomes a fundamental representation of art and its raw power conveyed through symbolic form.
While Sontag’s generalization of film in “Against Interpretation” can not fully apply to the direction of cinema’s development, many of her other assertions published almost thirty years before the release of Chungking Express still ring true. With the film’s emphasis on sensory emotions manifested in its striking visuals and other stylistic elements, Wong Kar-Wai skillfully allows his audience to directly feel and experience them without the overbearing fear of intellectuality. At its core, it is this deliberate usage of form that serves as the essence of Chungking Express’ captivating effect on its audience and the very source of the film’s enduring success. Now, as the film industry continues to progress into the present day, the lesson of form as cinema’s clearest deliverance of value has only been further solidified. Looking toward Chungking Express and the many greats that followed in its footsteps, the rise of style ought to serve as a testament to the profound impact that form and symbolic value hold. After all, art is most potent when its audience can be fully immersed, relishing in the visceral experience it offers.
Works Cited
Sontag, Susan. “Against Interpretation.” Against Interpretation, Picador, 1966, pp. 1-10.
Wikipedia. “Chungking Express.” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chungking_Express. Accessed 5 November 2023.
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