By Kenji Fujishima
A kaleidoscope of alienation and longing, Wong Kar-Wai’s 1995 film Fallen Angels remains one of Wong’s least discussed and least appreciated films. Of course, compared to the sheer beauty and maturity of his latest work--his intimate In the Mood for Love (2000); his majestic 2046 (2004); even “The Hand” (2004), his relatively brief yet masterful contribution to the omnibus film Eros—-earlier films like this one and Chungking Express (1994) come off as energetic though show-offy stylistic exercises.
But Fallen Angels is no mere exercise. In some ways, it is almost as important a film in Wong’s oeuvre as Happy Together (1997). If Happy Together represented a stepping stone, an emotional deepening of Wong’s usual themes of love, loss and desire, Fallen Angels represents both a look back and a look forward for one of cinema’s most important current directors.
Wong’s first feature film was a gangster flick titled As Tears Go By (1988), a Mean Streets ripoff that seemed to take its emotional cues from the popular Hong Kong action films of the time (such as John Woo’s 1986 gangster melodrama A Better Tomorrow). Tears may have been derivative and at times even dated and cheesy (on hearing the film's Cantopop rendition of Berlin’s “Take My Breath Away," a friend said, “And I thought the original was bad enough!”), but it had an operatic power, and more importantly, it laid out some of Wong’s stylistic signatures, including exaggerated neon-tinted lighting, the use of pop music to underscore moods, and pixillated slow-motion action scenes.
Fallen Angels is the only other film of his that could be considered a “gangster film,” although certainly it’s quite different from As Tears Go By. What Fallen Angels adds to what he was already doing visually in his first film is his experimentation with voiceover narration, allowing the characters to express their thoughts and feelings to us in ways that they are unable to articulate to each other. Also, in contrast to the linear plot of As Tears Go By, Fallen Angels pretty much disregards rules of classical storytelling. Instead of focusing on one linear plotline, it tells two interlocking stories filled with digressions and jumps in time.
In Fallen Angels, Wong takes all of those stylistic signatures to extremes. He pours on the slo-mo, the pixillated action scenes, the neon lighting and the pop music (one Canto pop song even becomes the source of a message from a killer to his assistant). In addition, the voiceovers become a dominant creative force: there’s barely any dialogue, and nearly all the characters' thoughts and emotions are expressed through narration. 
For all its youthful stylistic brashness and crisscrossing plots, though, one of the major themes of Fallen Angels is the idea of moving on, or at least trying to do so: moving on from an unfulfilling job, in the case of Leon Lai’s assassin-for-hire; moving on from a broken heart, in the case of Michelle Reis’ personal assistant; and especially, moving on from a slacker’s existence, in the case of Takeshi Kaneshiro’s mute He Zhiwu.
Surprisingly enough, that last instance of moving on—-part of the film’s barely-related subplot rather than its main plot—-may be the key to explaining Fallen Angels' significance in the context of Wong’s body of work. 
Early in the movie, He, who has escaped from prison, is seen breaking into shops every night and running them after hours. In his voiceover, he reasons that because the rent has already been paid, someone should still maintain these stores after hours. In some of the film’s funniest moments, He essentially hassles people into giving him money; a young man who professes to have mob connections is one of his accidental frequent “customers.” Eventually, though, he finds himself falling in love with a nutcase named Charlie (Charlie Yeung). When he discovers that his love is unrequited, he responds by trying to settle down from his older, wilder ways and reestablish a familial emotional connection, inspired by a Japanese restaurant owner who used to be a filmmaker: he decides to make a video of his widowed father, owner of the Chungking Express Mansions (one random Chungking reference among many in this film), as he goes about his everyday business.
I’d like to think that this plot turn holds at least a whisper of personal confession for Wong: his way of taking stock of the kinds of films he made before while expressing a desire to move on to something different and arguably more mature. Consider some of his previous film characters: the heartless ladies’ man played by Leslie Cheung in Days of Being Wild (1991), for example, or Faye Wong’s free spirit in Chungking Express. Both characters express one of Wong’s major cinematic preoccupations: a yearning for some kind of freedom within societal boundaries. Fallen Angels throws a wrench into his obsession by presenting a group of characters who, in their own ways, yearn for the opposite: a semblance of stability, in the case of killer; or an emotional connection to one closest to him, in He Zhiwu’s case.
As it turns out (spoiler alert for anyone who hasn’t seen the film) the killer ends up getting killed as he tries to do one last job for the assistant, and He returns to his aimless ways after his father dies. The personal assistant, meanwhile, having decided never again become personally involved with her partners, becomes a disheveled mess after the killer’s death (an event she may have helped orchestrate, although the film only suggests it obliquely). One could understandably see these developments as regressions for these characters-—real fallen angels. But I prefer to see them as Wong taking one last pained, wistful glance at his old preoccupations with free spirits and forbidden love before finally deciding to go in a different direction.
Thus, it is fitting that the film's final image is a pixillated slo-mo of the assistant riding He’s motorcycle: He has possibly made the human connection he'd sought, while the assistant has at last found some genuine “warmth.” As is typical of Wong, he leaves the ending unresolved—-the two characters’ futures hang in the balance—-but emotionally and thematically it is complete and satisfying.
Of all of his early films, Fallen Angels, for all of its high style, is arguably his most outwardly deceptive. I saw it soon after Days of Being Wild, probably the earliest Wong Kar-Wai film that could be said to be a spiritual precursor to In the Mood for Love and 2046. Compared to that relatively relaxed feature, Fallen Angels at first seemed a mere exercise: effectively moody, yes, but seemingly less interested in defining the characters and deeply involving us in their thoughts and emotions than in looking “cool,” playing with certain romantic notions, and revelling in changing film stocks, pixillated action sequences, and glamorous neon lighting (by Wong's regular collaborator Chris Doyle, his cinematographer on every feature after As Tears Go By,). The result at first struck me as superficially impressive but rather detached and empty; one could be easily dazzled by its MTV veneer, but was there really anything beneath the pretty surface?
These days, though, as a young film enthusiast still working out my views on cinema in general, I’ve become less interested in placing emphases on “well-told stories” or “three-dimensional characterizations” all the time, as many filmgoers are wont to do. Perhaps that's why, a few months after getting my first full glimpse of this film, I couldn’t get its powerfully alienated feel out of my head.
And so, while I would concede that the characters in Fallen Angels are rather thinly defined, and the style at times a little too flashy—-although more subtly expressive of characters’ emotions than I realized on first viewing—-the film is more important to Wong’s body of work than it first seems. In pushing his visual approach and his feel for hopeless romantics to extremes, he carries his modern style to its zenith. In emphasizing the changes his characters experience, I think Wong is implicitly looking ahead in his own career: wanting to enjoy the same free-spiritedness as his characters—-a freedom reflected not only in those characters, but also in Wong's rampant technique throughout the film—-but realizing, with a wince, that even in a big city like Hong Kong, there's a price to be paid for living such a lifestyle. That Wong continued to explore similar themes of love and alienation in an equally gorgeous yet more mature and intelligent style is further proof that he is one of the most exciting and fascinating filmmakers working today.
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Kenji Fujishima is a Rutgers University journalism student and the publisher of the blog My Life, at 24 Frames Per Second.
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Appreciation: Fallen Angels, directed by Wong Kar-Wai
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I'm a big fan of this film as well. Often viewed as the weaker of the two parter (pt 1: Chungking Express) that never was, I'm more inclined to see the film as a deepening of themes touched upon in CK. The longing for love, for permanence, in a transient and unpredictable world where people are often treated like commodities and relationships are negotiated, the film gives us wide-angled shots of these characters, tiny pensive atomies in hurly burly world, full of individuals bouncing wildly off one another in search of meaning and hope. The film's last comment, "The road isn't that long, and I know I'm getting off soon. But I'm feeling such warmth this very moment,” is among my favourite finales ever.
It's a wonderful ending. You actually feel the warmth emanating from the screen: from Michelle Reis' expression as she holds Takeshi Kaneshiro while he's driving in his motorcycle to the Flying Pickets song that plays on the soundtrack.
Oh man, I knew I forgot to mention something in my piece! The frequent use of wide-angle lenses was one of the things that intrigued me when I first saw Fallen Angels. (Certainly, it's something As Tears Go By didn't use nearly as frequently; in fact, it seems that only Fallen Angels really uses wide-angle so often.) By lengthening the perceived distance of the camera subject to the stuff happening in the background, it emphasizes the distance these characters feel from the world around them---an interesting effect, but one whose meaning might be easy to miss if one simply looks at the florid surface of the film.
Hey, one question about this film that has always bugged me: at the end, in the restaurant where He Zhiwu and the assistant meet again, He gets messed up in a fight with someone. I've never been totally sure why he started a fight with those guys in the first place. Maybe it doesn't really matter. What do you or anyone else who's seen the film think?
I wish I could help you, but it's been too long since I've seen this film to comment on such a specific moment. However, you've certainly whet my appetite for a return visit.
Well perhaps I've accomplished my mission with this piece then, heh.
Anyone else have any insight into the question I posed, about the motives of He Zhiwu attacking those guys (mobsters?) in the film's penultimate scene?
Nice piece, kenjfuj!
I haven't seen this movie, so I can't make any comments. But I'm going to seek it out after reading your piece. I've only seen Happy Together, which I liked, In the Mood for Love, which I loved, and 2046, which I hated. Fallen Angels sounds intriguing.
odienator: Thanks for the kind words. Yeah, Happy Together is often considered a transitional work, perhaps because it's a lot less stylistically florid (some might say over the top) than Fallen Angels, and thus it better anticipates later films like In the Mood for Love and perhaps 2046. But I think a case could be made that Fallen Angels is also, in hindsight, a work of transition. That's the case I tried to make in this piece.
My only fear is that I hope I haven't overhyped this film to the point that when people do finally sit down and watch it after having read this piece, they'll feel let down or something.
Question for "House Next Door" readers that anyone can answer: what is your favorite Wong Kar-Wai film---one that you can't get enough of? Or what do you think is probably the best Wong Kar-Wai film? Or the most underrated or overrated?
I love a lotta Wong's films, but really, is there much dispute that In the Mood for Love is his best film? However, I still have great affection for the second half of Chungking Express (and odienator, you might wanna see this before Fallen Angels if only cuz Wong originally invisioned these as one film), as I just can't gets me enough of great Tony Leung and the wacky Faye Wong.
As for most underrated, I'd go with his most recent, 2046, which got a giant yawn at Cannes (and granted, I have not seen that particular cut, which was rushed in order to make the deadline, but rather the later, tidied up version), but which I think is a fine finale to the "unofficial" trilogy of Days/Mood set. I thought that one of Wong's recurring themes, the haunting effect of heartbreak and love's spectral influence on the lives of the leads, was brought home beautifully.
My favorite Wong Kar-Wai films are, in order, "The Hand" (from the omnibus EROS), for its sheer perfection; "2046" for its emotional and chronological complexity, and its profound sense of melancholy; and "Chungking Express," which is just so damned beautiful, exciting and sexy. I am in the extreme minority in not liking "In the Mood for Love" all that much. I admire its sincerity and its technique, but I think the former is forgrounded a bit too much, to the point where it produces a sort of P.T. Anderson effect -- watching it, I found myself thinking, "What a gorgeous composition" or "What an elaborate camera move; how on earth did he do that?" rather than being immersed in the story, characters and emotions. I love showoff directors, so that's not the issue, and I have to agree that the movie is nearly perfect on its own terms. And as I always, I retain the right to change my mind upon repeat viewings.
dan: I still have great affection for the second half of Chungking Express (and odienator, you might wanna see this before Fallen Angels if only cuz Wong originally invisioned these as one film)
Oops, I forgot that he directed that.
Good catch, Matt. The Hand is great. Too bad about the other two instalments, though (particularly Antonioni's contribution, which is dreadful.)
Dan: I actually prefer Antonioni's segment to Soderberghs, because at least it feels like an Antonioni movie -- lots of attention paid to small gestures and symbolically charged compositions and landscapes. Also, Soderbergh's segment wants to be sexy and funny, and isn't, and I don't think it's mysterious or allusive, either; it has a New Yorker humor piece quality that feels out of place to me. It belonged in a tribute to Woody Allen, maybe, but not Antonioni. Pedro Almodovar was originally supposed to direct this particular segment but backed out due to scheduling conflicts. He would have done a much better job.
Hey, I wanna jump in on this conversation too!
Matt has said some interesting things regarding other Wong Kar-Wai films, particularly about his respectful though not adoring reaction to In the Mood for Love. I suppose there is something to what he says, about Wong's show-offy style dwarfing involvement in the characters and emotions. I wonder, though, if the characters are necessarily so important in In the Mood for Love: maybe the style is partly the point, in creating a visual poem of longing stifled by societal norms. The two main characters played by Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung could be anyone who discovered an attraction toward each other while knowing in the back of their minds that perhaps their love could never be, without it raising eyebrows.
But again, like you, I'd probably have to revisit the film again before I could say anything more thoughtful or intelligent about it (I've only seen it once, although I liked it the first time).
"The Hand" as Wong's masterpiece? I'd have to watch this one more time too, but it may very well be, I think. Compared to the sprawling 2046 and the narrative experimentation of Chungking Express and Fallen Angels, "The Hand" tells its story in about 45 minutes and yet seems so much larger than its short format would suggest. Maybe the short format, as A.O. Scott suggested in a review of Wong's contribution to Eros, really is perfect for him. Especially compared to the sprawling 2046, "The Hand" is much more focused, but just as lyrical, if not more so. (Maybe I should consider revisiting "The Hand"---forget Soderbergh's lame contribution and Antonioni's pretentious one---for a future "Appreciation"...)
dan_jardine: the second half of Chungking Express is so much fun that I barely remember much about the first half. But then, does anyone remember much about the first half, except, I suppose, Brigitte Lin's sunglasses and wig, and Takeshi Kaneshiro's deal with pineapples? It's the second half I'll always cherish about that film. But then, Fallen Angels seems to have borrowed some of its spirit and motifs from the first half of Chungking (Takeshi Kaneshiro's Cop 223, for instance, becomes Takeshi Kaneshiro's Prisoner 223 in Fallen Angels).
As for my picks: Fallen Angels is probably the film I'm most obsessed with right now---thus my personal favorite as of this moment, and, as I said in my piece, perhaps his most underrated. Still, his best is probably either "The Hand" or In the Mood for Love. (I admire 2046 and can see why some might consider it the ultimate Wong Kar-Wai film---even though the first and only time I saw it, it did strike me as a bit too slow and sprawling for my taste. But, like Matt, I certainly reserve the right to change my opinion; certainly, I respect what Wong is trying to do in 2046 that's perhaps different, and deeper, than what he did before, especially in its exploration of the effects of memory on people.)
Wong's segment was so much better that it feels like picking nits to choose which was weaker of the remaining two. Yes, Antonioni's at least had some of his trademark moves, but the dialogue was so fucking banal, and the actors delivering it so inept that it was pretty much unbearable. At least Soderbergh hired good actors (Arkin, Downey) to flesh out his thin little tale.
Dan: You're right, unfortunately. Wong's segment of EROS is so great that the others seem to be in a horse race for third.
WKW is my favorite director, but I am curious if that will change as I get older (I'm 22). Will all the alienation appeal to me when I've got more responsibilities in life?
In the Mood for Love, is very mannered compared to Fallen Angels and Happy Together falls somewhere in between. Especially in the soundtracks: less rock, more classical. WKW's characters seem to be getting older with each new film he makes.
After watching Michael Mann's Collateral and Tom Cruise's lonely alienated urban hitman, I couldn' help thinking of Fallen Angels. Wong is much less considered with straight-forward plot than Mann's movie, but therefore better conveys the void that killing people for a living is going to cause somebody.
andrew: I'd like to hear someone else possibly say something in response to your comment. I think it's an interesting one. Some of us might find Wong Kar-Wai's personal obsessions appealing when we're young and impressionable---especially young people like myself, who find some appeal to watching alienated characters living lives rather freely. But will Wong's films have a different kind of resonance---or, perhaps, simply less of a resonance---when we get older? I guess the only answer to that is a "only time will tell" response. That, however, should not necessarily detract from the power of Wong's films as works of art.
Interesting connection to Collateral as well, andrew. Perhaps Michael Mann could be said to do for L.A. something similar to what Wong Kar-Wai did for Hong Kong in Fallen Angels---made a big city seem isolated and lonely at night. Mann in Collateral may be less flashy technically speaking than Wong, but Wong's mood setting seems much more memorable to me---and it certainly is less chained to genre plot requirements than Collateral, with Vincent's evolution into unstoppable killer in the third act, is.
Speaking of Wong Kar-Wai connections to other filmmakers: perhaps this has been remarked upon already, but the Sofia Coppola of Lost in Translation, to my mind, definitely bears a stylistic and even thematic relationship to Wong: not only in the way she depicts modern Tokyo (with the kind of neon lighting Wong uses in Fallen Angels), but in the way she portrays two lost (American) souls trying to find some kind of connection in an unfamiliar land. Oh, and for some reason the final shot of Fallen Angels---as the assistant and He Zhiwu are riding out of the tunnel and the camera pans upward to get a glimpse of Hong Kong at dawn---reminded me a lot of the final few shots of Lost in Translation as Bob Harris is being driven away from Tokyo. I'm wondering if anyone else knows what I mean...
Wong's influence on Coppola is evident throughout LiT, and she has been effusive in her praise of the man's work, but I'd never put these two film's finales together before. These are, after all, two rather different scenarios. Still, it is an interesting call. I'll have to go back and look at them both again.
On your other concern regarding Wong's enduring importance, as long as you remain open to life, age should remain a near irrelevancy when it comes to appreciating a fine work of art. F'rinstance, I haven't been a teenager for quite some time, but I sure as shit empathize with Max Fisher in Rushmore, and recognize the greatness of this film. Likewise, I think Wong's films will stand the test of time pretty well, and if they don't affect you when you're older, it's probaby your fault, not Wong's.
That said, my favourite Wong film is In the Mood for Love, and I'd be lying if I didn't admit that part of the reason was that the protagonists are a little older and wiser than those in Chungking Express or Fallen Angels, and are going through something that is a little easier for me to relate to and identify with.
dan_jardine: Well, I have a tendency to make strange connections, so perhaps I'm seeing a connection that may not be there. I mean, the emotions evoked by the endings of both Fallen Angels and Lost in Translation are kinda different. One evokes the "warmth" of human connection, the other evokes the regret of leaving a human connection. Admittedly, it's a little different. Still, with the final shot of Fallen Angels, I couldn't help but think of the concluding shots of Coppola's film. Maybe it's just me, heh.
So, I watched the film again and (a) it is much funnier than I remembered (b) just as sweet at the center as Chungking Express (TK's character videotaping, then watching the tapes of, his father particularly affecting).
I was unable to see any reason for the fight, however. It's an innocent-looking scene where He not only throws the first punch, but also gets beaten up pretty convincingly, though it does not seem to bother him much.
Well thanks for trying anyway. I suppose motivation hasn't always been so important to Wong Kar-Wai, but it has always bothered me a little, that He seems to get into that fight for no apparent reason. I guess his regression after his father's death must have been deeper than I thought, heh. Either that, or it's merely a contrivance to get him and the assistant together at the end. With a beautiful final image like the one we get in this film, I guess I won't complain too loudly. Besides, who really knows why a person does anything anyway except the person him- or herself?
I know, but I'm sworn to secrecy. I'd tell you, but I'd have to...well, you know the rest.
Ack, haven't been here for a couple of weeks and there's a Wong Kar Wai article!
Regarding Kenji's question on why Zhiwu started the right. I don't think he did that deliberately, he was just being his usual eccentric self by doing weird shit to 'connect' with people. (Like those times when he crashed into those barbershops, butchery, ice-cream van and then forcing the stuff on people just to feel some sort of connection.) Unfortunately, he managed to annoy some thugs this time, and got beaten up. But as you can see, he was still smiling and stuff after everything, satisfied with the 'connection'.
And the shots you described aren't exactly pixelated, it's a method devised by then-art director/cinematographer (not sure what was his exact role) Andrew Lau when they were making Ashes of Time to blur up images by slowing down the camera shutter. By doing this, any movements will seem like a blur even if it's done in normal speed. Hehe, it's something I did in my previous short film.
In fact, Fallen Angels is the most recent WKW film I rewatched. I've seen most of his stuff when they were just released, but in the past two years since I've embarked upon my filmmaking path, I've been rewatching his stuff cos I never 'got' them in the past (I was 13 when I first watched Fallen Angels)
And I agree, Fallen Angels is great. I was watching it WHILE editing my film, er, cos' I was emulating some of those flashy techniques he used (and to me, I think Fallen Angels is arguably his most showoffy, flashy film).
Here's my list of personal favourite WKW films (Happy Together is the only one I've never watched)::
1) Chungking Express
2) Fallen Angels and In The Mood For Love (it's a tie, but I tend to reference both films most)
3) Ashes of Time
BTW:
The more literal translation for the ending was:
"The road isn't that long, and I know I'm getting off soon. But I feel very warm in this very minute."
WKW tends to pay a lot of attention in using numbers when time is being described.
yo,
liked the essay. to me #1 is 2046 and fallen angels comes next.
swifty, you're missing a lot by not watching happy together. i have yet to see buenos aires degree zero.
One more thing about WKW's connection to other filmmakers. I think that many of Wong's films pays homage to Alain Resnais's elliptical narrative style. I recently watched Hiroshima Mon Amour, and it reminded me a lot of Wong's films like Ashes of Time and In the Mood for Love. I haven't seen Last Year at Marienbad yet, but I've heard of Ashes of Time being compared to that film. WKW is also often compared to Goddard, though I've only seen Breathless I can't really comment on that. Fallen Angels has grown on me a lot since I've seen it a year ago.
I am REALLY late in commenting, but great essay on this film. Fallen Angels has generally been my favorite Wong Kar-Wai film since its style has always pleased me on a visceral level and is, in my opinion, the most satisfying (happy) ending of all of Wong's films, without being overbearing at the same time.
Earlier you asked a question as to why He Zhiwu fought with the mobsters and I think actually if you watch carefully and not pay attention to Michelle Rei's close-up that He is eating with someone who keeps looking at the mobsters. Eventually the mobster makes a threat and even makes a physical gesture at them, to which He responds by punching the mobster in the face.
In a lot of ways, its reminiscent of the scene with He and Charlie when they bump into a person who just happens to be named Blondie and everyone in the restaurant starts fighting, and for no apparent reason other than to enjoy the thrill of physical interaction, He Zhiwu joins the rumble.
Looking at it deeper, and I believe The Great Swifty elaborated on it, He seems to find eccentric ways to connect to people - hence the smiling after he got beat down. His character longs for personal connection no matter how bizarre he may go about it.
I think He Zhiwu (the ex-con version) and Faye Wong's character in Chungking Express are easily Wong's most interesting characters. I'd even argue that their bizarre nature (moreso with Zhiwu) make their characters larger than life and in a sense, timeless. Its a funny coincidence that its the second story in both Chungking and Fallen Angels that end up "stealing the show" so to speak.
A little off tangent to my comment, but I also have to go back to the ending and state how it amazingly brings everything together well, when you consider that He and the assistant only had a meaningless interaction earlier in the film. Generally a lot of films need to build a connection between two characters to make an ending like that work. Which is why its such a testament to how well the narrative works in establishing these characters that we actually feel the very warmth that Michelle Reis feels.
Sorry for the long comment, but I can go on and on about this movie. I did have a question of my own as well. Two in fact. 1) Anyone have an idea what exactly happened between He's "accidental" customer in their final encounter? I'm going under the safe assumption that he just chopped off the guy's hair since that was a recurring theme with the character - but did He perhaps kill the guy? I hope not.
and 2) I still find the Blondie rumble in the restaurant a little incoherent in that everyone just fights because someone is named Blondie. I mean, huh?
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