Wong Kar-wai's 1995 film was originally conceived as the third part of what eventually became the two-part Chungking Express. The material that didn't make the cut for that film became its own film, serving as a loose continuation but also as its own distinct statement. The big difference with this film, apart from how it intertwines its stories instead of separating them into two halves, is its tone. Chungking Express operated mostly in offbeat romantic territory; Fallen Angels veers closer…

Sometimes "goodbye" really means "until we meet again."

For a follow-up to a film that in no way, shape, of form needed one, Fallen Angels not only admirably lives up to the pressure of being a sequel to Chungking Express, it manages to expand the themes of the previous two segments (putting all in a much clearer and distinct light), and does so in such a tonally and structurally different way that it's difficult to tell which is the stronger…

One of two potentially compelling storylines weakened by the other already mediocre story. Intercutting would have hurt it even the parallel story was interesting and didn't center around a character that I think may be retarded due to the film's relentless pursuit of forced, stupid quirkiness. This is mostly due to its fever dream atmosphere, where the tone in one half is quirky comedy filled with dumbasses, and the other is a hitman love story. Wong Kar Wai homogenizes them…

The spiritual successor to the modern masterwork that is Chungking Express perhaps would have benefited from being free of such an association. Whilst Fallen Angels is similar in style and fascination with human being connecting in a chaotic urban space, it falls short of being as insightful and moving as the former. Also working with a similar structure of two simultaneous romantic entanglements that cross over, Fallen Angels frustrates from a lack of cohesion between the two. The initial storyline…

I think what mesmerized me with this film was how is it shot. The camera seems to have a slight fisheye in many shots, and is constantly moving. It is obviously handheld for the majority of shots of peoples faces and movements, which I loved because it sort of made you feel like a character in the film. There were a few instances of blood being spattered on the camera lens itself, a subtle reminder that you are watching a…

A group of misfits, either unloved or forgotten about, alone and drifting through the hazy nights of Hong Kong, unknowingly searching for someone to be with. Fallen Angels is a work of undiluted romanticism and an escape from the mundane everyday life into one filled with danger, violence, unappreciation, and yet despite all of that a feeling of longing and, eventually, loving in the air. It can be seen in every frame, heard in its soundtrack and felt in the…