Flavour of the Week

I picked up a copy of Kar Wai Wong's film Chungking Express on DVD the other day. The commonly used summary of 'a story about two lovelorn cops' does not do the film nearly enough justice - its is so much more than just a story. The cinematography is second to known, with over saturated shots creating an intense visual experiance which, although I've never been there, seems to fit one's impressions of Hong Kong. The soundtrack rocking along in the background complements the visuals perfectly. The film is split into two distinct stories, each dealing with life of a different cop, with a fairly abrupt switch from one story to the other just under halfway into the running time. The stylistic continuity, however, ensures that the flow of the film doesn't feel in the least bit disjointed as one might assume it would. The development & interaction of the characters from each story is a pleasure of watch, and often quite entertaining - ok outright funny. Don't pass up an opportunity to watch this film - its certainly one of Kar Wai Wong's most accessible & entralling films.

A little over two weeks back I made my first (yes really!) trip to the ICA cinema to see Cafe Lumiere. There's not really any significant plot to speak of, but then that's not really the point of this film - its all really about getting to feel the know the regular, everyday life of the lead character - the very cute Yoko. As someone who's never been to the far east, let alone Japan or Tokyo, just observing the cinematography was satisfaction in itself, giving the viewer access to a slice of Tokyo life altogether different from that shown by Lost in Translation