| Director | Wong Kar-wai |
|---|---|
| Box office | HK$7.5 million |
Hitman Wong Chi-ming talks to a woman, whom he refers to as his "partner". The story begins after Wong responds to her question on whether they are still partners.
The pair have never met despite having been business partners for nearly three years; instead they exchange plans via letters and faxes. The partner cleans the hitman's cramped apartment, buys his groceries, and sends him blueprints of assassination locations. Becoming increasingly obsessed with his mysterious nature, she visits a bar Wong frequents and daydreams about him, after which she goes to his apartment and masturbates to the thought of him.
Wong carries out a successful hit but is shot in the arm in the process. Increasingly frustrated by the monotone life of contract killing and lack of free will, he decides to quit. He sets up a meeting with his partner but no-shows. Certain that she will come looking for him at his favourite bar, he asks the bartender to suggest "Forget Him" on the jukebox when she arrives. After listening to the song, the partner returns to his apartment, where she masturbates until she breaks down crying. Meanwhile, Wong encounters an eccentric woman nicknamed "Blondie" at a McDonald's, who invites him to her apartment. She believes Wong is the ex-lover who left her for another woman.
Wong ultimately decides to meet his partner in person and informs her that he wishes to terminate their partnership. She asks him to do one more job, which he agrees. Afterwards, Wong breaks off his relationship with Blondie, leaving her heartbroken. She bites him in the arm to leave her mark on him. The hitman sets out for his final job, while the partner makes a phone call that gives him away. Wong eventually dies in the showdown, though he is pleased that he has finally been able to achieve free will by making his own decisions and dying.
The chaotic Chungking Mansions, where the hitman's partner lives, is also home to Ho Chi-mo, a mute ex-convict who lives with his father. For work, he breaks into other people's businesses at night and sells their goods and services, often forcibly to unwilling customers. He frequently runs into a woman named Charlie, who cries on his shoulder and tells him the same sob story of her ex-boyfriend Johnny leaving her for a girl named Blondie. Ho falls for her but she ultimately stands him up, after which he changes his ways, beginning a friendship and work relationship with a restaurant manager and starting to film things around him with a video camera. His father passes away, and Ho watches the video filmed to remember him. He eventually runs into Charlie while masquerading as a business owner. She is now a stewardess in a new relationship, and does not acknowledge him.
Some time later, the partner visits a restaurant, admitting that she has become more cautious and detached following Wong's death. Nearby, Ho is beaten up by a local gang. Seeing this, she realises that he is feeling the same sense of loss as her. They go for a ride on Ho's motorbike. He states that he feels a spark even though they will never be friends or confidants, while she comments that she has not been close to anyone in a while, and even though it is temporary, she enjoys the warmth he brings in the moment.