CHUNGKING EXPRESS 2020: New Wong Kar Wai Film Approved by Chinese Government

New Wong Kar Wai Film Approved by Chinese Censorship Board

Authorities in the PRC’s National Film Bureau have registered and approved a new movie project written by Hong Kong-based auteur filmmaker Wong Kar Wai, listed as Chungking Express 2020.

The script was submitted for government approval in Shanghai in April and was approved on Wednesday, September 23, according to an official filing on the National Film Bureau’s website, meaning it can now move forward with plans for production.

The project was listed by Shanghai Fanhuali Development Company, which is also involved in the TV series Blossoms that credits Wong as creator and producer. The company has only been previously involved in two films: Pema Tseden’s art house stunner Jinpa and ATM, a slapstick 2019 remake of a Thai rom-com.

The official filing offers a short, slightly cryptic plot summary: “In ’90s Hong Kong, broken-hearted Policeman 223 encounters a blonde female assassin, and they spend a short time together overnight. Policeman 663, who also is getting over heartbreak, sees his life gradually changed by the intrusions of the ‘person of his dreams.’ In 2036, young Xiao Qian and May are unwilling to be held back by genetic partnerings, and insist on finding their own ‘destiny’.”

The original Chungking Express — written and directed by Wong — was released in 1994 starring Brigitte Lin, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Faye Wong, and Takeshi Kaneshiro. The movie tells two sequential love stories involving two heartbroken policemen. The first is recovering from a break-up with a woman named May when he encounters a mysterious femme fatale, while the second overcomes his break-up melancholy when he falls for a girl in a fast food restaurant.

It appears that Wong’s new film will be a continuation of the original but with part set in the future, where some new characters and sci-fi elements are introduced. A source close to the director told Variety, “Wong was planning to film a coda to ‘Chungking Express.’ Now it seems to be a feature.”

Chinese media reports speculate that the future setting of this film will be in the actual Chinese city of Chongqing (formerly spelled as the eponymous “Chungking”), where Wong has been spotted in public over the last year, sporting his signature black cap and sunglasses.

After an early sighting last fall, he posted a cryptic photo of a text that read “25-25” to his Weibo social media account, which fans interpreted as a commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the original film and a hint that a related project could be in the works. “You don’t ask, I don’t tell; it’s a tacit understanding. Thanks for all the encounters,” he wrote.

Leave your thoughts on Chungking Express 2020 below in the comments section. Readers seeking to support this type of content can visit our Patreon Page and become one of FilmBook’s patrons. Readers seeking more movie news can visit our Movie News Page, our Movie News Facebook Page, and our Movie News Twitter Page. Want up-to-the-minute notification? FilmBook staff members publish articles by Email, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest, and Flipboard. This movie news was bought to our attention by Variety.