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The camera movement in Chungking Express gives the film an almost documentary-like feel: shots frequently start by tracking or panning towards the relevant action as if catching it for the only time, and many shots appear to be recorded on handheld cameras. The lack of movement in these shots is in itself a form of camera movement crucial towards better understanding the underlying themes and narrative ideas in Chungking Express. Overall, the element of frozen frames plays a stark contrast to the constantly moving camera shots throughout the frame. For example, the frozen frames of the pineapple cans are also representative of Cop 663’s expiring love as the film continues, an important theme. As this film progresses, other freeze frames come into focus, all with different meanings based on their corresponding images. The importance of time in the story is what justifies the placement of this freeze-frame at the beginning of the film. The freeze-frame is representative of time throughout the film and signifies the contrast between the rushed lifestyle of the Women in a Blonde Wig and Cop 663’s patient wait for May. This is shown multiple times throughout the scene however, the beginning freeze frames of the clock, I would argue are the most iconic. However, the film also seeks to portray images that stand out from the rest of the scene.
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With there being multiple blurry segments full of pans and tilts, viewers often feel the disorienting effect of urban, crammed life. The element of frozen frames plays an important role in clarifying the constantly-moving plot of Chungking Express. Her true identity remains hidden while she interacts with the characters in the film. This subtle parallel between the prop and character to be introduced hints at the fact that the woman is wearing a wig the whole time. As the audience finds out later in the movie, this doll resembles a woman that He Qiwu will meet as the doll wears the same wig as the woman.
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This emphatic focus on the seemingly insignificant prop draws our attention to the inclusion of the doll in the scene––specifically, the relationship between the doll and He Qiwu. As the doll passes He Qiwu’s face, the camera zooms in on the doll’s face. He is still stuck amid the bustling crowd but in this shot, a doll is pushed past him. The second instance of zoom happens directly after He Qiwu has introduced himself. To verify this, the camera quickly zooms into his badge pinned to his coat.
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The first instance that is more notable happens when He Qiwu is introducing himself as a cop. Lastly, the zoom in the scene is harder to notice as it blends in with the other movements of the camera. This imitation allows the audience to feel even more involved in the scene in particular, as the camera movement feels very close-to-life. Moreover, the fast paced tilting also imitates the feeling that a person experiences when he or she is running. This movement of the camera adds to the milieu of disorder in the scene as both men are moving through crowds and making quick, jittery movements similar to that of the tilting camera. While panning is intermittent within the scene, the use of tilt is almost continuous throughout the whole scene as the camera moves up and down chaotically. This effect puts an emphasis on how fast he is running as well as the distance he is traveling. In addition, pan is used as the camera moves alongside He Qiwu while he is running. When He Qiwu is first walking through a crowd, the skillful panning tracks him and shows the crowd around him passing by this further highlights that it is a busy shot. In one of the first shots of the film where He Qiwu is chasing an assailant, the image produced by the movements of the camera are shown as blurry. Specifically analyzing the first that appears blurry to the audience, the use of pan, tilt, and zoom creates a fast paced shot that allows the film to achieve a dramaticized appearance of the characters in action. By Gabriela Horwath, Wyn Veiga, Tomas Pacheco, Mimi Taylor, Joon Choi Focus Blur – Gabriela: