After the accomplished As Tears Go By and Days Of Being Wild, Wong Kar-Wai's third film was the one audiences truly fell for. Both a tender tale of the city and a comic riff on lovesick mooning, undeclared desire, obsessive compulsion and missed opportunities, it bustles with visual style and a pop score that's very much in the mood for love.

Famously, Wong shot it on the hoof after his planned third film, the Samurai epic Ashes Of Time, toppled over-budget and over-schedule. It shows, too, but in a good way, emitting the kind of hand-held vitality you just can't fake. The action covers two stories, centred on downtown Hong Kong. There, Cop 223 (Takeshi Kaneshiro) muses on the expiry dates of tinned pineapple and romanticises a non-fling he had (well, didn't have ) with a Monroe-wigged drug smuggler (Brigitte Lin). Meanwhile, Cop 663 (Tony Leung) is pining over an air hostess who flew away...

Not a lot happens besides, making the title sweetly, gently ironic: for all their `California Dreaming', these characters aren't going anywhere fast. Not that it matters. The pleasure to be had from hanging out with Wong's pale-and-interesting unrequited lovers lies in the zippy shooting style and warm, winning performances.

DVD Extras:

None.