Chungking Express: An allegory of the HK handover?

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Times, dates and numbers the signature of Chungking Express are mainly what the film revolves around. Time has always been a significant part of Wong Kar Wai's films, not to mention in Chungking Express. The obsessive interest in time, dates and numbers led the film to be read as an allegory of the 17 Hong Kong handover, just like other Hong Kong films made after the 180s. These are thought to point towards the allegorical theme even though there is no direct mention of the handover in the film. But is the film really made to be an allegory?

Indeed in the film, there are numerous references to time and dates, one particularly significant date being 1 May 14. In fact, the first story revolves itself around this date. To the two protagonists in the first story, 1 May 14 is a turning point, an expiration date for both of them. To the blonde, 1 May 14 is the deadline given to her to rectify the situation (recover the lost drugs) or get killed. To cop , 1 May 14 is both his birthday and the date marking a moth since his girlfriend left him on April Fools' Day an expiration date for their relationship. Besides having close-ups of the expiration date of canned food, the film also has close-up shots of clocks. In obvious example would be the digital calendar clock, which is usually filmed as tome or dates are changing. Voice-over monologues of cop also makes references to time, for example, "57 hours later, I fell in love with this woman" and "6 hours later, she fell in love with another man". Even the songs used in the film make references to time like "What a Difference a Day Makes".

Theses are thought to remind the viewer of the passage of time and the absolute demarcation of time by dates like 1 July 17. 1 May 14 could be seen as a metaphor to the date 1 July 17. The fact that 1 May 14 had been treated as an expiration date in the film relates to the fact that 1 July 14 is the expiration date for the British rule in Hong Kong, a turning point in history for Hong Kong. The scenes of clocks and the voice-overs referring to times signify the consciousness of the passage of time in the minds of Hong Kong people, one counting down to the impending handover.

Furthermore, the characters of the film are almost "nameless". Numbers are used to identify them, e.g. cop and cop 66. The uncertainty of identity relates to the fact that Hong Kong is made up of immigrants. The characters in the film seem to be part of Hong Kong and elsewhere as well. For example, the Indians in Chungking Mansions and cop , who speaks a variety of languages and says that he was from Taiwan. This raises the question of the return of Hong Kong to China, will China be able to give Hong Kong an identity or will Hong Kong even lose its existing one?

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The above points seem to make the allegorical reading possible. However, considering that Chungking Express was completed within three months and that its main purpose was to offset the extra costs incurred while filming Ashes of Time, it seems unlikely for Wong Kar Wai to conceive such a complex them. Rather than reading the film as an allegory, the repetitive use of time, dates and numbers are better said to be reflective of the relationships of people living in the city.

With reference to the obsessive interests in times and dates, one point to note is that these occur mainly in the first story. Hence, instead of the allegorical reading, the obsession with 1 May 14 would be attributed to the fact that cop 's girlfriend's name (May) is the same as the name of the month. The obsession is thus an obsession of the relationship and not of the sate itself. Cop could not get over the loss of May. Deadlines are also part and parcel of everyday life in the city.

The songs and the voice-overs emphasize on the significance of the moment, one particularly related to personal memory. To people living in a city, time passes by quickly, moments go by unnoticed, and hence "What a Difference a Day Makes". However, certain moments in time do make a difference. As cop says, "A woman says "Happy Birthday" to me on May 1, 14. Be cause of this, I remember this woman. If memory could be canned, I hope this one will never expire. If an expiry date must be added onto it, let it be 10,000 years." This is shown as a freeze-frame, which makes the viewer conscious of the moment, thus drawing out its importance, making a moment to remember. Time and dates, therefore, reflect more about the relationships of people than of the handover.

City life often involves proximity with little or no reciprocity. This is reflected by using characters that are "nameless". Taking cop 6 as an example, even though he is a regular at Midnight Express and the number on his badge could be clearly seen, the owner of Midnight Express still confuses his identity as shown in the dialogue between the owner of Midnight Express, who says "PC 6 is good with girls" and the Indian worker, who follows up with " That was PC 66".

Even though being in the same space at the same time, interaction between people does not necessarily occur. This is shown by the shots of the characters of the second story appearing in the first, Faye and the blonde at a shop; at the airport as the blonde is dealing with the Indians, there is a cut showing 66's girlfriend outside the air port waiting for a cab; a shot of 66 at the overhead bridge as is chasing the thief. Although the characters are within the same space at the same time, they do not interact. Again, this is a reflection of proximity with no reciprocity, an aspect of city life.

Time holds different meanings to different people; therefore it would be constraining to say that the use of time in Chungking Express is due to the allegory. The use of time would be better said to be reflective of the lives of city people, one that is constrained by deadlines and whose fleeting passage may or may not have an impact on the very lives of the people, as the voice-over of cop comment "We rub shoulders with each other everyday. We may not know each other. But we could become good friends some day." The allegory might arise from a subconscious stream of though of Wong Kar Wai, but is definitely not what the film is made to be.

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