Fallen Angels

Wong Kar Wai (WKW), Hong Kong's art director of choice, has only directed seven movies to date, none of which has starred legendary figures such as Jackie Chan, Jet Li, or Chow Yun Fat. Instead, Wong seems more interested in (talented) pop stars and new comers. One can observe how WKW rarely chooses the wrong cast. From Maggie Cheung in "As Tears Go By" to Takeshi Kaneshiro in "Chungking Express," WKW has always created memorable characters out of young actors. It can be said that once you have worked with WKW, your career has truly begun. Fallen Angels, the unofficial third segment of Chungking Express, stars pop icon Leon Lai, a young Karen Mok, the always-gorgeous Charlie Yeung, the ever playful Takeshi Kaneshiro, and a different Michelle Reis than I'm used to. As Dave Trolsky (from HKMDB) points out, WKW is able to get the absolute best out of the cast.

The unique camera style is Wong Kar Wai and cinematography Christopher Doyle's best-known patent, and its use is never overlooked in "Fallen Angels." Filled with jerky, blurry, flashy, slow motion, the movie is mesmerizing material from one of the living legends of Hong Kong cinema.

To expect conventional film-making from WKW is a mistake. Fallen Angels may be the most unconventional yet. Compared to WKW's most recent movie "In the Mood for Love," Fallen Angels is far more stylish and captivating in the visual department. But what really sets this movie apart from the rest is its story-telling. If you've seen Ashes of Time or Chungking Express, you can expect the same disjointed narrative style. Fallen Angels does it even better by switching back and forth between 2 separate (and barely connected) stories, similar to Ashes of Time (except Ashes has far more stories to switch back to and led to a mess). This is more effective than what Wong did in Chungking Express (which is his most acclaimed effort), where once the first story was over, the characters never came back. My personal preference is to see characters return, so . In terms of characters disappearing and reappearing, Fallen Angels is similar to the Demi Gods and Semi Devils. ^_^

The first story involves a lonely assassin Leon Lai and his business partner Michelle Reis. She has fallen in love with him, but he thinks "the best partners shouldn't have feelings." When he leaves the business, she is devastated, so whenever she cleans his house, she masturbates on his bed (something I DID mind seeing).

In the same area, ice cream manager Takeshi Kaneshiro is harassing everyone that comes across his path. Every night, he encounters a heart-broken Charlie Yeung, who always cries on his shoulders, despite not knowing each other. He doesn't mind her problem, and she becomes his first love. However, things never quite work out between them. At the same time, we are introduced to Takeshi's father, a cook who lives with his mute son.

As mentioned earlier, the movie mixes the two stories and eventually strikes a connection. It would be impossible to describe the beauty of the film. It's one of the most seemingly simple and yet emotionally powerful movies. Like most WKW movies, the plot explores people of different but ultimately similar background that come together. These characters possess little luck and fortune, and are usually screwed up. Assassins, thieves, drug dealer's girlfriend, and our own Takeshi Kaneshiro who changes profession daily - the list goes on. They have things in common, too: they're all lost, looking for a shoulder to rest on, and ultimately seeking their own places in society. Karen Mok's electrifying performance won her the best supporting actress in the 1995 HK Film Awards, a well deserved honor. Leon Lai has surely never been cooler. Michelle Reis also gives the performance of her career. She displays a deep range of sadness and carelessness, which I've never seen her do before. In many ways, her character is the most tragic, never grasping what she seeks (until the end). But when you look at the tragedy involved with the other characters, everyone has a pretty fair share.

The music is another excellent supporting feature. The highlights include the laid back, all-mumbling song that comes on whenever Leon Lai performs assassination, and Shirley Kwan's "Forget Him," which fits the atmosphere perfectly. By all means this is not an action movie, but to me, the stylish shootouts were more captivating than anything John Woo ever did.

With so much thought-provoking material, one can imagine how the actors are able to grow through this experience. The most repeated line in both Chungking Express and Fallen Angels is spoken by Takeshi Kaneshiro in both: "Everyday we rub shoulders with others. Some may become your friend, or even lovers." This seems to be the focus of both movies; couples are met by mere chance. It's also interesting to note the many other references to Chungking Express, such as Takeshi's character. After all, this movie was originally intended to be part of Chungking. I'm glad WKW made it separately.

In my opinion, Wong Kar Wai has created a masterpiece of a lifetime in Fallen Angels. While I don't like the result of "Ashes of Time," where WKW applied his patents to the wuxia genre (please, no!), I applaud his effort here. By the end of the film, the viewer will have undergone a powerful, bittersweet journey, one that is unlikely to be forgotten.

Original screenshots: http://filmcritics.org.hk/