Fallen Angels (1995)
Reviewed by: Gaijin84 on 2005-08-30
Summary: Stylistic and very enjoyable
Made soon after and running along the same lines, Fallen Angels is a sort of sequel to Chungking Express. Starring Leon Lai as an uninspired assassin, Michele Reis as his "agent", Takeshi Kaneshiro as a mute ex-con, Fallen Angels intertwines thier individual stories in a very stylized film. The assassin and his agent have never net, but after each time she cleans his apartment and leaves his assignment for him, she becomes more and more attracted to him. However, being lethargic, he instead hooks up with an exuberant street girl named Baby (Karen Mok), and only later decides to take a different path in life (one that includes Michele Reis) after taking a final, fateful assignment.

Reis (the agent) lives in an apartment complex run by father of the mute He Qiwu (Takeshi Kaneshiro), a former convict. A restless soul, Qiwu breaks into businesses late at night and forces passersby into paying for his services. He ends up falling for a distraught girl (Charlie Yeung), but she eventually leaves him after the initial attraction wears off. Through it all, Wong Kar Wai weaves the story around the character's interactions.

Very similar to Chungking Express in its style and storytelling, Fallen Angels is another very entertaining movie from Kar Wai. The performances from the actors are great, especially those from Takeshi Kaneshiro, Leon Lai and Karen Mok. Kar Wai is truly a master of introducing you to characters and then revealing aspects of their personalities through their interactions with the other few key roles in the movie. He doesn't overdo the cast size, but keeps it to the most important participants in the story, allowing the viewer to get a much better feeling for who the characters are. Combine this with his incredible use of music (everything from reggae to traditional Chinese) and you have a very stylized and enjoyable movie. Completely recommended for those who loved Chungking Express, and a great movie for newcomers to Wong Kar Wai's groundbreaking films.
8/10
Reviewer Score: 8