Summary

Wong Kar-wai’s films like Chungking Express and In the Mood for Love are highly respected and regarded as some of the best movies ever made. Fallen Angels, though less recognized, deserves more credit and should be considered among Kar-wai’s greatest works. The visuals, cinematography, and soundtrack in Fallen Angels are visually inventive and contribute to its stylish and atmospheric storytelling.

Perhaps the greatest filmmaker in the illustrious history of Chinese cinema is Wong Kar-wai. He’s known for various recurring methods of filmmaking, from nonlinear narratives and slow-motion camera shots to off-center frames and saturated color palettes. Near the end of the 1980s, he debuted with As Tears Go By (1988). It received widespread praise upon release and is still held in high regard today.

His next project was Days of Being Wild (1990), followed by two films in the same year: Chungking Express (1994) and Ashes of Time (1994). The former landed the auteur on the map of international acclaim, with Happy Together (1997) confirming his caliber for international audiences. At the turn of the century, In the Mood for Love (2000) solidified him as one of the all-time greats.

But between those three seminal projects, Kar-wai released the dark horse of his filmography: Fallen Angels (1995). And while plenty of hardcore film fans recognize the quality — it’s developed a committed cult following in recent years — there’s no denying that Fallen Angels deserves more credit overall when discussing the magnum opus of Wong Kar-wai.

The Consensus Masterworks of Wong Kar-wai

Chungking Express and In the Mood for Love are both among the most respected movies ever made, let alone from their respective decades. The former accrued ten nominations at the 1995 Hong Kong Film Awards, winning in four categories, including Best Picture. Meanwhile, In the Mood garnered twelve nominations at its ceremony, winning five in total. And as respected as both films were upon release, they’re arguably held in even higher regard today.

In 2022, they both appeared on the Sight & Sound list of the top 100 movies ever made: Chungking at #88 and In the Mood at #5. The latter is perhaps his most famous project. It’s frequently cited as one of the greatest films, not just of the twenty-first century, but even of all time, and justifiably so. But Chungking Express is recognized by film fans as the other front-runner for Kar-wai’s best — also with good reason. It’s a compelling project with an equally interesting production.

Chungking is told in two parts: though different sets of characters, both stories follow a lovesick police officer from Hong Kong who gets over their respective breakup by bonding with, one, a hitman, and two, a snack bar worker. Kar-wai wrote the first story while taking a break from editing his previous film, Ashes of Time. And for Tony Leung and Faye Wong’s segment (the second), the auteur wrote the script in just a single day.

Related Best Wong Kar-Wai Movies, Ranked Wong Kar-Wai is a living legend in cinema. Here are his best movies.

Then, there’s Fallen Angels — its two-part story of a love-stricken assassin, and a mute ex-convict was cut as the third side of Chungking Express. Both films are set in Hong Kong, though they follow disparate characters. The assassin in Fallen Angels is played by Leon Lai, while Takeshi Kaneshiro shows up as the former prisoner. They both perform perfectly in a project that deserves more love from film fans today.

The Genius of Fallen Angels

With the help of a committed crew, every film under Wong Kar-wai’s belt proves a thoroughgoing feast for the eyes. But with a carefully curated color palette of neon, the precise camera movements of Christopher Doyle, and expert use of wide-angle lenses, this may be the most visually inventive film Kar-wai has ever made. From the perspective of atmospheric storytelling alone, Fallen Angels is an absolute triumph.

The legendary Christopher Doyle has won Best Cinematographer on three occasions at the Hong Kong Film Awards — each win marked a collaboration with Wong Kar-wai. The aforementioned camera operator won for his first film with the famous director, called Days of Being Wild, followed by another victory thanks to Ashes of Time. The following year, Doyle finished first once again for his work on Fallen Angels.

Related These 20 Films Make 1995 a Legendary Year The films on this list render 1995 one of the greatest years in cinema history as they span every genre imaginable with tight focuses on character.

Working in great tandem with its visuals is a unique, resonating soundtrack compiled by Frankie Chan, another frequent collaborator of Wong Kar-wai. Even the tactics of continuity editing contribute to the film’s stylish approach, with jump cuts from William Chang perfectly punctuating the frantic pace of Doyle’s handheld movements and the thumping beats of the soundtrack from Chan.

None of that touches on the film’s masterful utilization of Dutch angles or the constant close-ups of distortion achieved by the wide-angle lenses. With the script for Fallen Angels, the famous filmmaker crafted the perfect canvas — the actors can be the palette — for his closest behind-the-scenes collaborators to paint their respective masterpieces. And while the movie itself may not be the single greatest work by Wong Kar-wai, it should be in discussion, at least.

Why Fallen Angels Deserves More Credit

At the Hong Kong Film Awards’ 15th ceremony, Fallen Angels won two out of nine nominations: Best Supporting Actress for Karen Mok and Best Cinematography for Christopher Doyle. In just as legendary fashion as the other Kar-wai masterworks, Fallen Angels nearly swept the awards in terms of nominations. It stands tall as a high-quality film by itself.

But considering it’s basically the demented version of Chungking, originally written as the third story for the latter’s runtime, there’s no telling why Fallen Angels gets thrown by the contemporary wayside. Wong Kar-wai once said he considers Chungking Express and Fallen Angels to be one long project that runs for over three hours.

He says both the films and the characters therein are “inter-reversible” and that the respective films represent “the bright and dark of Hong Kong.” While one is commonly cited as his masterwork, Fallen Angels is technically the chaos to Chungking’s control, the absurdity to its realism—the biting cold to its heartwarming heat. For as much credit as Chungking Express receives as one of Wong Kar-wai’s greatest projects, Fallen Angels should be up there, too. Fallen Angels is available to rent on Prime Video.

Rent on Prime Video