Fallen Angels poster & wallpaper
Get movie widget Recommend it Add to Favorites

Leon Lai, Michelle Reis, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Charlie Yeung, Karen Mok ... see more see more... , Fai-hung Chan , Chen Wan-lei , To-hoi Kong , Kwan Lee-Na , Toru Saito , Wu Yuk-Ho

Wong Kar-wai's Fallen Angels is a sequel of sorts to the director's 1994 U.S. breakthrough Chungking Express. Expanding on the latter's style, themes, and mood, Fallen Angels is set in the surreal mil... read more read more...ieu of urban, nighttime Hong Kong. As with the filmmaker's other features, plot takes a back seat to mood. The wisp of a narrative intercuts two story lines. The first follows a hitman (Leon Lai) who finds that the assassin's life has slowly lost its allure. Complicating his life is his beautiful contact (Michele Reis, a former Miss Hong Kong winner) who pines after him with fetishistic ardor, although the two have never met in their nearly three-year partnership. In another part of the city, He (Takeshi Kaneshiro), a mute, boyish ex-convict, makes a living by sneaking into and running businesses after hours. Still living with his father who runs the Chungking Mansions hotel, the restless Ho falls for Cherry (Charlie Yeung), a woman getting over her breakup with the offscreen Johnny. The movie follows these episodic romances almost half-heartedly as with Wong's other films, and digressionary moments attract much of the camera's distracted gaze. This visually stylish and unabashedly effusive work is considered by some critics to be the quintessential Wong film. ~ Elbert Ventura, Rovi

Flixster Users

86% liked it

11,283 ratings

Critics

95% liked it

19 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 35 min.

Directed by: Kar Wai Wong

Release Date: September 6, 1995

Invite friends to see

DVD Release Date: October 12, 1999

Stats: 682 reviews

report incorrect info

Photos

Fallen Angels Fallen Angels Fallen Angels Fallen Angels Fallen Angels Fallen Angels Fallen Angels Fallen Angels Fallen Angels Fallen Angels Fallen Angels Fallen Angels Fallen Angels Fallen Angels Fallen Angels Fallen Angels Fallen Angels Fallen Angels
Upload a Photo | View All Fallen Angels Photos

Your Rating


clear rating

Flixster Reviews (682)

  • brooklynspo
    October 13, 2008
    brooklynspo
    Netflix somni-bomb. All style, mood and colors. It literally took me three months to get through this frickin' movie because it kept putting me to sleep. So cool it's dead.
  • SarahG1988
    January 23, 2011
    SarahG1988
    UPDATE: Just discovered that Fallen Angels is out on DVD and I can watch it. Will buy it soon and re-watch it and then re-review it........soon

    Fallen Angels is the story of a professional killer in Hong Kong. It follows the in's and out's of his job and his partner in ... read morecrime who he rarely sees. After 3 years of working together, he wants out. Another sub-plot is about a mute (caused by eating expired cans of pineapples for a month, after he was heart broken) who breaks into restaurants, cafés and ice-cream trucks at night and forces people to buy his goods!

    Wong Kar Wai?s fifth directorial film in 1995 and which was originally meant to be part of Chung King Express was a good film but not great. For me it seems incoherent and the characters just don?t seem to be able to hold the narrative well as I thought. There great parts of the movie are as follows; the stunning cinematography done by frequent collaborator, Christopher Doyle really captures the mood of Hong Kong well and the themes brought up in the film. Such as alienation from others, which I believed that was shown well.

    Once again, Wai leaves hints of trademarks around the mise-en-scne. For instance during the film, there are constant references to the weather, and how it?s raining. Which has been featured in Chungking, In The Mood For Love, Happy Together amongst his work. There are also subtle hints in the background, through radio and TV, which reflects Hong Kong?s news, which is currently going on. What is done well is the usage of language, we see the news in English, French and Mandarin of course- that reflects well the era in which it was done in. The camerawork is something, which I haven?t seen in his work before. The close-up camera work is effective and does make the audience understand the characters well and their thoughts and feelings. However, what also this creates is a colastrophic atmosphere that these alienated characters are finding themselves in most of the time and you do feel like you are intruding in their lives at times.

    The narrative, as I stated before, is a little confusing. However the narrative with He Zhiwu I was able to understand. Once amusing scene was when he was massaging a pig, which probably fitted well with his character?s personality. He was a mute, but I felt more sympathy for him that the other characters within Fallen Angels. Perhaps the camera-work made the film, for me, seem a little slow-paced and out of sorts.

    Overall, Fallen Angels is worth the watch but is not of of his better movies. For me Chungking, its predecessor is far superior and has that quirkiness about it, which you cannot not like. This, perhaps, is a darker versions of that and delves deeper into what really is going on in these disillusioned people. If you haven?t watch Wai?s excellent work, start with his most recent work as it?s far better. Fallen Angels is superior to Days of Being Wild and As Tears Go By
  • DragonEyeMorrison
    May 30, 2008
    DragonEyeMorrison
    Bleh, Wong Kar Wai...at least he had the decency to show Michelle Reis touching herself.
  • binky013
    August 11, 2007
    binky013
    Life, maybe, turns on coincidence or is directed by fate -- your choice -- or maybe not : ) Sometimes it seems as if we do live in a very small world, although sometimes it is so huge and impersonal that we don't even recognize our former lovers. This elastic size of the world ... read morecan make love hard to find, and it can make it easy. If you find love, however, will it last? Love of family is the most stable kind of love, but even that cannot, in the world of the living, last forever. Another very bittersweet experience from Wong.
  • drago25
    June 17, 2007
    drago25
    Wow. This film is just a bundle of energy. Very different from later films such as In The Mood For Love, this is the story of the relationship between a hitman ready to leave the business and his partner, entangled with the story of an eccentric mute who sneaks into businesses wh... read moreen they close and forms unique bonds with people. And although this is definitely a very different type of film than one like In The Mood For Love or 2046 - like those films, Fallen Angels is jampacked with sexual energy and has a very strong sense of style. From the immense variety of different, interesting camera angles to the frenetic pace of most of the shots - this is stylistically one of the coolest films I've ever seen. But beneath all that, it's a very, very human film. It focuses on the person to person bond and actually reveals itself to be a completely earthbound tale, reinforcing the title, and creating in the process a very beautiful, aware film wrapped up in a pretty, glossy sheen of style. If you're a fan of Kar Wai Wong, or Asian film in general, this is a must-see.
  • ebs90
    May 19, 2007
    ebs90
    If 2046 had kept me away from Wong Kar Wai, Fallen Angels has made me desperately seek out his previous work. This movie is a frantic recount of young lost people, shot entirely during nighttime in Hong Kong. It's heartbreaking in the sense that since it doesn't provide an ending... read more for all the characters -but I guess it's good for a change to not wrap everything up in a hurry and make the audience feel let down. All the events flow logically, yet freely. Kar Wai is also the master of mood: the closely-shot settings and the neon lights induce claustrophobia, but they are also very eye-catching. The characters are down and lonely. They all have communication issues: some never see each other, some seek touch to the verge of craziness, some only speak on the phone, some don't speak at all. They all smoke cigarettes perpetually, the only thing that is always there inconditionally. You can either enjoy it with your heart, your eyes, or your brain. It takes a lot of risks : little dialogue, slow-mo, scattered violence, voice-over, and yet it never drags or bores. Highly recommended.
  • fb208103125
    October 7, 2011
    fb208103125
    Amazing direction by Wong Kar-wai and a film flooding to the brim with emotional pull and humanity, Fallen Angels is another great film in his repertoire. Shot with many effects and filming styles, the film literally portrays a moving city and those in it in such a surreal and e... read morexciting way. With the many references to Wong Kar-wai's Chungking Express, this makes a wonderful companion piece!
  • lesleyanorton
    February 24, 2010
    lesleyanorton
    I tried IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE, and then 2046 and now FALLEN ANGELS and they're all "all style, and no substance" and boring as hell. No more Kar Wai Wong romantic coupling films for me. ASHES OF TIME REDUX is great though.
  • jimbotender
    September 27, 2010
    jimbotender
    I assume it's because of my unfair will that prevents me to rate this higher,Kar Wai's most ambiguous work in my books.Effective,slick temperament and a palling atmosphere,thugs and underground individuals interconnect into a roundabout of frisky results.I expect more masterpiece... read mores though from that modern master.
  • toejambaseball24
    February 7, 2009
    toejambaseball24
    I'm not really sure what to make of this movie. It was energetic, but not very entertaining. It was stylish, but not substantial. The girl (Michelle Reis) was really hot, but the look of the film was quite ugly. The point of this film wasn't supposed to be the story (there's real... read morely no narrative, which isn't necessarily a bad thing), but it was obviously supposed to be a new-wave 90's artistic visual statement. The only problem is that I didn't like looking at it.

View All Fallen Angels Reviews

Critic Reviews

Kevin Thomas
February 14, 2001
Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times

An exhilarating rush of a movie, with all manner of go-for-broke visual bravura that expresses perfectly the free spirits of [Wong's] bold young people. Full Review

Roger Ebert
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

I felt transported back to the 1960s films of Jean-Luc Godard. I was watching a film that was not afraid of its audience. Full Review

Edward Guthmann
January 1, 2000
Edward Guthmann, San Francisco Chronicle

Wong brings tremendous vigor and audacity to the effort, asking us to question the most basic rules of storytelling and commercial filmmaking. Full Review

Stephen Holden
January 1, 2000
Stephen Holden, New York Times

A densely packed suite of zany vignettes that have the autonomy of pop songs or stand-up comic riffs. Full Review

Jeffrey M. Anderson
October 21, 2008
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid

The film is Wong's most visually striking, with Wong and Doyle constantly inventing intoxicating new angles for every shot. Full Review

Urban Cinefile Critics
December 14, 2007
Urban Cinefile Critics, Urban Cinefile

Photographed by expat Australian Christopher Doyle, Fallen Angels is cinematic exuberance in the hands of a confident filmmaker who builds a montage, and serves you a smorgasbord of images and charact... Full Review

Dennis Schwartz
January 5, 2007
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

A brilliantly innovative filmmaker who gets his feelings across through the cheeky and sometimes surreal visuals and his cool style of filmmaking. Full Review

Leo Goldsmith
February 5, 2005
Leo Goldsmith, Not Coming to a Theater Near You

Fallen Angels lunges and chases after its rapidly receding subjects, looking to capture and preserve a trace of their presence before the sun rises and the shadows fade. Full Review

Michael Dequina
January 2, 2004
Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com

Stylish and mesmerizing... Equals the poignance of Chungking Express. Full Review

Dan Jardine
October 27, 2003
Dan Jardine, Apollo Guide

There's a lot more to Wong Kar-Wai than tremendous cinematic skill and distinctive style. He's got something to say about the modern condition. Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Cast

More Like This

Click a thumb to vote on that suggestion, or add your own suggestions.

  • The Butcher, The Chef And The Swordsman
    The Butcher, The Chef And The Swordsman (100%)
  • After Hours
    After Hours (0%)
  • Happy Together (Chun gwong cha sit)
    Happy Together (Chun gwong cha sit) (100%)
  • Taxi Driver
    Taxi Driver (38%)

More Movies like Fallen Angels

Facts

Submit a Fact | View All
    • He Zhiwu: I have heard people say everything has its expiration date. I wasn't sure this would apply to her and johnny, but I thought it might soon.
Submit a Fact | View All

Fallen Angels : Watch Free on TV

Fallen Angels Trivia

  • Which of these businesses does Takeshi Kaneshiro's character in Wong Kar Wai's Fallen Angels NOT break into after hours to run as his own?  Answer »
  • what movie would you find two fallen angels plotting to get back into heaven?  Answer »
  • name the actress that played the fallen angel in charlie's angels   Answer »
  • This movie has 2 fallen angels, the 13th apostle, the last scion, and one guy who doesnt talk.  Answer »
More Fallen Angels Trivia

Movie Quizzes

No quizzes for Fallen Angels. Want to create one?

Video Clips

No video clips yet. Want to upload one?

Meet Other Fans

Add Fallen Angels to favorites

Recent News

No recent headlines. Got one?

Recent Lists

Make a List |

View All Lists

Most Popular Skin

No skins yet. Interested in creating one?