Chungking Express
Choose a five-minute scene in Chungking Express and think about the themes that Wong Kar Wai embodies in this work (such as isolation, time, etc.) and analyze the scene through this theme and using 1-2 cinematic elements. Minimum 2 paragraphs.
In the scene of Chungking Express where officer 663 receives a letter from his ex, framing is used to emphasize the passing of time. The scene specifically where the woman looks at him while he drinks his coffee , contemplating opening the letter, the foreground consists of citizens passing by on the street in fast motion. Meanwhile in the middle ground, officer 663 is drinking his coffee while gazing at the letter in regular speed as compared to the foreground that was sped up. Lastly, in the background you have the woman staring at him with minimal movements. Time is shown passing by with the foreground while it hardly move in the rest of the shot. This style of filmmaking emphasizes officer 663’s impending news that his girlfriend broke up with him while the woman is slowly falling in love with him in this moment.
ReplyDeleteSound design in this film and scene, is meant to depict isolation. Particularly in the scene where the woman is working and all her coworkers leave at once leaving her there, alone. She begins to turn on california dreaming to draw out her isolation. The song overtakes the scene as it’s all you can hear, meanwhile the woman simply dances to the song while half working. Eventually the officer who she’s beginning to obsess over comes into the store. In this moment she first resist the temptation to turn the music down as the championship hasn’t been established yet. The officer then requests that she turns it down so they can speak to one another. By turning down the music her isolation is no longer emphasized and she has found someone to overcome her loneliness in this scene. Overall, sound design is used to drown out the woman's isolation and when it is turned down, there is someone to provide companionship.
The scene I have chosen is when Cop 663 is talking to his belongings in his apartment after Faye has stopped by to gradually replace everything. The themes of isolation and change are highlighted through the cinematic elements of cinematography and mise en scene.
ReplyDeleteThis scene opens with a close up of 663 opening a can of “sardines” that Faye has tampered with. Much of the camerawork in this scene is handheld, creating a more personal and intimate mood. The camera slowly moves in centering 663 and making him the main subject of the shot. This emphasizes the isolation felt while he is alone in his apartment. Later, as he is talking to his soap bar and dish towel, the camera remains handheld, but also begins to subtly tilt. This signifies that his life in the apartment feels wrong and altered after his girlfriend left, and also the change his life is undergoing as Faye gradually begins to replace his depleted materials. A close up is then used to display the “crying towel”. This is done to highlight that although the towel has physically changed, it still feels lonely and isolated due to 663’s girlfriend leaving. As he talks to the Garfield plushie Faye left in his apartment, the camera looks in from behind the window, allowing some of the shutter to frame the shot. This creates a sense of isolation for 663, as the viewer is watching him alone in his apartment, talking to a stuffed animal about his loneliness rather than another human. This shot also positions him in the center of the frame, in between the plushie and his fishtank, both of which Faye has changed. This signifies that although he is isolated, he is also surrounded by change. The shot in which 663’s ex-girlfriend’s shirt is hanging on the line is also one of the few shots in the film to show the sky. This shot, displaying both her shirt, a landing plane, and the sky signifies that change is coming to 663’s life, whether it be in the form of his girlfriend’s return or the arrival of a new love.
The mise-en-scene of this scene overall helps to accentuate the loneliness Cop 663 feels as well as the change his life undergoes due to Faye’s help. Although he confusedly notices that the can labeled sardines doesn’t actually contain sardines, he is still willing to eat them, suggesting that he is open to the change and variety coming into his life. There are also several mirrors and shots in which 663’s reflection is shown, such as the shot where he notices the unfamiliar picture on his mirror, and when he’s brushing his teeth. These reflection shots are done to emphasize his isolation in his apartment; he has no one but himself, and all his belongings which mysteriously start to change on their own. Another element of mise en scene that highlights the themes of isolation and change is the acting and expression. As 663 chides his soap bar, his towel, and stuffed animal, he gently chides them for changing in negative ways; ie, the soap bar got fatter, his towel suddenly changed personality, and his white plush turned yellow. This underlines the theme of change, and that as his belongings gradually change and move onwards from a lost love, so will 663. Furthermore, the way he speaks to his items as if they were human, or could converse back emphasizes the feelings of loneliness and isolation. Rather than conversing with another person, he scolds his household items for changing without him.
In the opening scene of Chungking Express, the framing of certain shots and editing aid in placing emphasis on the theme of time passing and sets the tone for the rest of the film. The first few shots consist of people going through their everyday lives, interwoven with shots of the woman with a blonde wig calmly making her way through them. Step-printing, a method in which footage is recorded in a lower frame rate and frames are repeated afterwards in post production, is used throughout the scene to create the illusion of time simultaneously speeding up and slowing down. Characters surrounding the blonde woman are lost in a blur, in turn isolating and drawing focus to her as well as heightening the bustling atmosphere of the city.
ReplyDeleteLater, as Cop 223 introduces himself, step-printing is used again, blurring the characters around him. He remains in the center-third of the frame for the majority of his screen-time as he chases down a criminal. Shots become shorter as the scene progresses, cutting rapidly between his point of view and his reactions, speeding up the scene until he bumps into the blonde woman. The camera then remains focused on her, she is framed between the center and left third, her surroundings are dark and she becomes one of the only visible people. The shot lasts for a longer duration compared to the rest of the scene and the camera remains relatively still, contrasting the calm exterior of the blonde woman and the chaos following Cop 223.
0:22:15 - 0:27:15
ReplyDeleteThe scene that I have chosen begins with Cop 223 eating all 30 cans of expired pineapple in one sitting as a coping mechanism for the end of his relationship. He proceeds to call a number of people from his distant past, hoping to reconnect and hang out. As his attempts are fruitless, he finds himself drunk at a bar in the early hours of morning. Both themes of isolation and time are presented by editing and cinematography.
The way that the film in general is edited is reminiscent of the French New Wave style. The use of the jump cut is the most prevalent. An example of this is when Cop 223 is eating the cans of pineapple. While watching him eat all 30 cans of pineapple in one, extremely lengthy take, would have had a certain impact on its own, Wong Kar Wai chose to use jump cuts to display the passage of time. The result is something somewhat comedic, as Cop 223 seemingly downs can after can, sometimes adding toppings to it or offering it to his dog. The use of the jump cut highlights the sense of isolation that Cop 223 feels as well. The scene is depicting someone who is heartbroken at their absolute lowest points; it’s his birthday and he’s spending it pathetically eating expired pineapple in an attempt to self-soothe over a breakup that happened a month ago. The cinematography aides this effect as well. During the first part of the scene, the camera barely moves at all. The first shot is an extreme closeup of a can with an expiration date of May 1st, used in order to show the importance of the item to both the character and the plot. After this though, the camera is mostly stationary. It begins with a medium shot, as Cop 223 sits on the floor next to the fishtank. The way that this shot is framed allows for the hallway to be directly behind him and for him to be surrounded by the cans of pineapple, making the house seem more claustrophobic than it is. After another jump cut, Cop 223 walks into the other room to sit on a stool. Although the camera’s position has not changed, the character is now framed by the hallway as well, causing the viewer’s attention to be completely on him. This has the additional effect of making the cop seem smaller and more isolated as well. As his inner monologue continues, the cop decides to simultaneously reward himself for eating all of the cans and celebrate his birthday. The camera cuts to a shallowly focused shot of the fish tank with all of the empty cans inside and the kitchen in the background that he no longer occupies.
While on the phone with people from his past, the use of jump cuts achieves the same effects as before. As Cop 223 talks to his old friends, each attempt becoming more pathetic than the last, the irony of time passing as he talks about the passage of time has not been lost. It is almost as if Cop 223 has been self-imposing his own isolation during his past relationship, and only now that it is over he realizes how truly alone he is. The aftermath of this scene is him coming to terms with his newfound self awareness, displayed through a hazy period of about six hours.
The scene to analyze was the scene where Faye breaks into officer 663’s apartment while he isn’t there so she can clean it up. Through manipulation of time and space by using editing and the life like atmosphere of the space by use of cinematography Wong Kar Wai communicates a theme of aloloness where in the joy of spending time with oneself overwhelms the placid despair loneliness as it’s presented earlier in the film.
ReplyDeleteThe first quality of the editing in this scene that stands out are the jump cuts.because this is a montage the multitude of jump cuts look completely natural.For instance when she drugs officer 663’s drink with sleeping pills the very next shot is Faye in a different space hours later in the night.The next shot after that is in officer 663’s apartment where he has fallen asleep at the table where he was drinking.In three shots the story moves to a different time and space and then back to the same space.This gives the illusion that even though Faye and 663 are in the apartment at separate times they are in the same space cinematically.
Another example where Wai uses a jump cut is when Faye is sitting on a high shelf in 663’s closet playing with a shirt which is still in its rapper.In the very next shot the shirt is unwrapped and in the next it is on a hanger. This gives the illusion that it had just appeared out of its bag.Even though this is an obvious break in continuity it is appropriate for this jump cut infested montage.Thematically it represents the momentum at which 663’s private life is being opened up to her.Jump cuts lose track of all the things the audience is quickly in the same manner that Faye is discovering things about 663 rapidly.
As far as cinematography the camera seems just as energetic as Faye is to be alone in 663’s apartment as it doesn’t stop moving.The first three shots:A pan medium shot of Faye walking up to the apartment, A medium close up tilt of a fish going into a tank and a dolly shot of Faye dancing on a window cage, all have camera movemnt.In the case of the fishtank shot, the camera follows the fish as it slowly moves to the bottom of the bag and then falls rapidly from the bag into the tank.The quick pace of this camera movement is shared with the shot of her dancing on the window cage where the camera comes quickly up to her from behind.The quick pace of the camera matches both Faye’s quick solving of all of 663’s housing problems and the ectatic rush she feels to get them solved before he gets home each day.In the case of the camera movement that approached Faye at the window cage we see the perspective of her shortly before as she might’ve quickly walked over there and gotten side tracked.Like wise Faye’s worry that the fish is going to fall into the tank to quickly is complimented the abrupt movement as the fish falls.In general the camera movement always matches Faye’s frenetic emotions as she travels through the apartment.Aloneness for this reason is a better way to describe this scene , Faye is ecstatic about being alone because she is in somebody else's apartment.It's positive loneliness because cinematically it expresses child like discovery rather than isolation.