Chungking Express (4K Restoration)
What a difference a day makes.
1996 | PG-13 | Hong Kong | Wong Kar-wai | English, हिन्दी, 广州话 / 廣州話, 日本語, 普通话 | 103 minutes
We’re toasting Chinese Lunar New Year festivities (2023 – Year of the Rabbit) with a double header featuring two standout performances from one of our favourite actors, the incomparable (not to mention prolific) Tony Leung.
Join us on Tuesday, January 30 for 4K restorations of modern Hong Kong cinema classics, including Wong Kar Wai‘s CHUNGKING EXPRESS at 6:30 pm followed by the masterful crime thriller INFERNAL AFFAIRS (the inspiration behind Martin Scorsese‘s THE DEPARTED) at 8:30 pm.
The whiplash, double-pronged CHUNGKING EXPRESS (#88 in Sight and Sound’s recent Top 100 Films of All Time poll) is one of the defining works of nineties cinema and the film that made Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar Wai an instant icon. The film follows two heartsick Hong Kong cops (Takeshi Kaneshiro and Tony Leung), both jilted by ex-lovers, who cross paths at the Midnight Express take-out restaurant stand, where the ethereal pixie waitress Faye (Faye Wong) works. Anything goes in Wong’s gloriously shot and utterly unexpected charmer, which cemented the sex appeal of its gorgeous stars and forever turned canned pineapple and the Mamas and the Papas’ “California Dreamin’” into tokens of romantic longing. With Brigitte Lin.
“[Wong’s] hypnotic images of love and loss finally wear down your resistance as seemingly discordant sights and sounds coalesce into a radiant, crazy quilt.” (Rolling Stone Magazine)
“Even if all it had to offer were writer-director Wong Kar-wai’s thrillingly distinctive visuals, Chungking Express would be well worth watching; happily, its thoughtfully drawn characters and naturalistic performances also pack a potent dramatic wallop.” (Rotten Tomatoes)
“‘Chungking Express’ is a breezy little Hong Kong movie that has more life, energy, humanity and sheer visual zing than most other shows you’ll see in a month or so.” (Chicago Tribune)
Tuesday, January 31
Doors 6:00 pm | Movie 6:30 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.
Advance single film tickets HERE
Why not make this a Tony Leung double feature with INFERNAL AFFAIRS (4K Restoration) at 8:30 pm?
Double Bill Tickets HERE
*Rio Theatre Groupons and passes OK for any single film screening only. Please redeem at the box office. Online sales end an hour before any given showtime. Unless otherwise noted, tickets are alo available for purchase at the door.
*If you are looking to redeem your tickets to either a canceled Rio Theatre screening or a Rio Theatre gift certificate, please email <[email protected]> with info including your name, canceled receipt number, gift certificate info, what you are wanting to see and when, and we can make the switch for you in advance. Alternately, you can bring this information with you to the venue, and we will do our best to help you at the box office.
CHUNGKING EXPRESS (Wong Kar Wai, 1996 / 103 mins / PG / Cantonese with English subtitles) Every day, Cop 223 buys a can of pineapple with an expiration date of May 1, symbolizing the day he’ll get over his lost love. He’s also got his eye on a mysterious woman in a blond wig, oblivious of the fact she’s a drug dealer. Cop 663 is distraught with heartbreak over a breakup. But when his ex drops a spare set of his keys at a local cafe, a waitress lets herself into his apartment and spruces up his life.
- Budget$160,000.00
- IMDB