KinoCult presents: "Fallen Angels" | Fallen Angels (1995) by Wong Kar-wai

December 15 | 19:00 | Lumiere Cinema | English subtitles

A hitman contemplates quitting his job. The woman who organizes his contracts is in love with him, but they almost never meet. Elsewhere in the night-time Hong Kong, a young man who has lost his ability to speak bursts into closed shops and forces random passersby to become his clients. Amidst crimes, chance encounters, and unrequited desires, everyone is searching for a way to connect with another person.

"Fallen Angels" was originally conceived as the third story in "Chungking Express." Kar-wai separates the material into a standalone film, which becomes his darker, nocturnal counterpart. Romance and absurd humor remain, but here desires and messages pass through text messages, jukeboxes, and items left in someone else's room.

Christopher Doyle shoots with extremely wide-angle lenses that distort faces and stretch space. The camera gets almost under the skin of the characters, while the distance between them seems insurmountable. Neon lights, blurred motion, and sudden transitions to black and white turn Hong Kong into both a physical and imaginary city - narrow, breathless, and endless.

The production design and editing by William Chang connect small rooms, establishments, and underground passages into a world where life seems to begin after closing time. The music of Frankie Chan and Roel A. Garcia flows through this world along with pop songs, and "Only You" by The Flying Pickets provides a rare moment of warmth at the end.

In 1996, "Fallen Angels" won three Hong Kong Film Awards - for Christopher Doyle's cinematography, original music, and supporting actress for Karen Mok. At the 1995 Golden Horse Awards, it was recognized for editing and production design.

A crime film, a love story, and a black comedy - one of the boldest incarnations of Kar-wai's cinema, where closeness can last as long as a motorcycle ride and still change the entire night.

director and writer: Wong Kar-wai
starring: Leon Lai, Michelle Reis, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Charlie Young, Karen Mok
cinematography: Christopher Doyle
editing: William Chang, Wong Ming-lam
production design: William Chang
music: Frankie Chan, Roel A. Garcia
duration: 99 min.
language: Cantonese
subtitles: English