The film was completed after two years of post-production for the Wuxia epic "Ashes of Time," and made with limited funds; it’s proof that a significant budget isn't necessary to create something exceptional. Wong Kar-Wai has a distinctive style, often featuring characters weighed down by sadness and fragmented narratives, underscored by carefully chosen music. This film presents two separate dramas centered on lovesick police officers navigating complex relationships with women—their connection always just barely out of reach. The initial story follows Takeshi Kaneshiro as a cop struggling with the end of his relationship with a woman named May (he tries to cope through letters and keepsakes like pineapple cans), while also encountering a mysterious drug smuggler. The second narrative focuses on Tony Leung, portraying an officer who begins to move past the pain of losing his girlfriend when he meets a peculiar snack bar employee called Express – a reference in the title—played by Faye Wong. Both stories unfold primarily within Chungking Mansions, a 1960s building initially intended for residential use but now housing budget hotels, shops, and services catering to wholesalers trading with Africa and South Asia. The lengthy Central–Mid-Levels escalator, stretching over 800 meters, is another key location featured in the film. Each sequence employs a distinctive visual style, alternating between close-up intimacy and frantic energy, using color effectively amidst the disarray—a quality that evokes the work of photographer Saul Leiter. The soundtrack for the first story includes Dennis Brown's "Things in Life," alongside Michael Galasso’s “Baroque,” which is played multiple times during that portion of the film. In the second segment, "California Dreamin'" by The Mamas & the Papas accompanies key scenes, along with Faye Wong's Cantonese rendition of "Dreams" by The Cranberries. Originally conceived as a third part of a larger project, it was ultimately released as a separate film, *Fallen Angels*, in 1995. It’s an essential classic with a singular style that sets it apart from other Hong Kong films—I would rate it an 8.7 out of 10.

Source on TMDB