Tuesday 13 July 2010

Chungking Express

Another period of pure joy. We nearly exploded at the sight of Tony Leung entering.
A few points to add; interesting how the characters of the second half are introduced in the first, through windows and quick snatches. It rather mirrors the way the camera 'finds' characters throughout; the further away shot, from a doorway or a window, and then close in as we understand the character.
Wong Kar Wei does not give us static shots of faces, but it is also not as though he does not allow a lot of time on them. Wobbly framing is in itself a kind of dwelling. Also, the moving around and the changes increases the sense of alienation (as do props like sunglasses and raincoats), but for our money we feel this distancing perversely gets us closer to the characters (this technique can fail, see 'The Kreutzer Sonata')
And the music. Oh the music the music.....non-diagetic sound largely, not to say what has already been said, but to create extra images (often used in montage).
God is here.

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