"When did everything start having an expiration date?"
Cop 223 says this while looking through cans of pineapple with the expiration date of May 1st. It's a metaphor for the expiration of the love he had with his ex-girlfriend, and expiration dates appear as a motif throughout the film, especially in its first half.
"Some say dogs are man's best friend. So how come mine won't share my grief right now?"
Cop 223 says this while eating his 30 cans of pineapple on April 30th. He is looking for anyone or anything to connect with emotionally in a real way, and he cannot even find sympathy and love from his dog. It illustrates the almost pathetic degree to which he's grieving his relationship.
"Somedays I go home for lunch, because there's always a chance..."
Cope 663 says this when searching through his apartment. His ex-girlfriend used to hide in his place and jump out at him when he got home from work. It's his willingness to believe that their relationship may still have a chance, and that she may come back to him.
"She said she wanted to try some new dishes. I guess she's right. Plenty of choice in men, just like junk food."
This is a humorous line that conveys one of the central ideas of Chungking Express. The modern city is full of people and lives, often making the people in it feel both overwhelmed by the number of other people to possibly connect with, while also feeling alone and alienated from each other.
"The louder the better. Stops me from thinking."
This is perhaps Faye's signature line in the film, talking about why she's always blasting The Mamas and the Papas' "California Dreamin'". This is a perfect encapsulation of '90s ennui, illustrating a young, energetic girl who is burdened by the trappings of modern life. But all she needs to do to drown it everything out is turn up the music.
"Did I leave the tap running, or is the apartment getting more tearful?"
By this point in the film, Cop 663's façade of a stoic officer of the law has totally broken down, as we now understand him to be a hopeless, aimless romantic just like his counterpart from earlier in the film, Cop 223.
"The body loses water when you jog, so you have none left for tears."
When Cop 223 first says this, it sounds self-deprecating, but when we actually see him go for a run at the height of his distress later in the film, it's clear that he's really a lost soul.
"You're not daydreaming. You're sleepwalking."
Really, the manager of the Midnight Express could say this to any of the characters who we see him interact with. As the voice of reason in the film, the manager helps us to seejust how hopelessly heartsick or lost all of the other characters are.
"That was the closest we ever got, just 0.01 cm between us. 57 hours later, I fell in love with this woman."
This is the first line of the film, which we hear via voiceover during a foot chase. It's a fantastic opening, encapsulates a couple of the movie's key ideas, such as time and intimacy, while also leaving a tantalizing hint of what's to come.
"Actually, really knowing someone doesn't mean anything. People change. A person may like pineapple today and something else tomorrow."
Here we have another one of the key ideas of the movie, echoed in the choice of song that comes later in the film "What a Diff'rence a Day Makes." So much of Chungking Express is about the transitory nature of desire, of not just chance encounters between people, but chance encounters of emotions in a situation.
