Chungking Express X Chlorine

Wednesday, April 19, 2023

Special one-night-only event celebrating the release of Chlorine, a novel by Jade Song, with one of the author’s personal favorites, CHUNGKING EXPRESS. Screening followed by a conversation, moderated by New York Times reporter Anna Kodé, and book signing.

4K restoration!

The whiplash, double-pronged CHUNGKING EXPRESS is one of the defining works of nineties cinema and the film that made Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar Wai an instant icon. Two heartsick Hong Kong cops (Takeshi Kaneshiro and Tony Leung), both jilted by ex-lovers, 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. A Janus Films release.

Chlorine’s Ren Yu is a talented competitive swimmer under immense pressure, seeking to transcend into mermaid, the state of being she believes most representative of freedom. As a coping mechanism, Ren hyper fixates on the strange and loveable and lonely Faye Wong in Chungking Express. To Ren, Faye is relatable, Faye is hot, Faye is her—and like Ren toiling away at the pool, Faye spends her days toiling behind the fast-food counter. As they toil, both Ren and Faye dream of escape from their human constraints, dreaming of freedom from their absurd, unexplainable, all-too-human sorrow. Order your copy of Chlorine for the book signing here or at concessions on the day of the event!

Jade Song is a writer, art director, and artist based in New York City. Their debut novel CHLORINE, which Publisher’s Weekly calls “visionary and disturbing,” is forthcoming on March 28, 2023 from William Morrow; other writing is published in Teen Vogue, Electric Literature, and various literary magazines.

Anna Kodé is a reporter for The New York Times, covering design and cultural trends. She’s written about Joan Didion’s estate sale, erotic readings at pizza joints and why people wanted Jeff Bezos to eat the Mona Lisa. Her work has appeared on NPR, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and elsewhere. She lives in SoHo and loves citrus.;

• Language In Cantonese and Mandarin with English subtitles
• Year 1994
• Running Time 104 minutes
• Distributor Janus
• Director Wong Kar Wai
• Accessibility Assistive Listening, T-Coil

IFC Center does not generally provide advisories about subject matter or potentially triggering content in films, as sensitivities vary from person to person. In addition to the synopses, trailers and other links on our website, further information about content and age-appropriateness for specific films can be found on Common Sense Media, IMDb and DoesTheDogDie.com as well as through general internet searches.