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Fallen Angels
Fallen Angels
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Fallen Angels

Fallen Angels

1995
Romance, Comedy
1h 39m
A disillusioned killer embarks on his last hit but first he has to overcome his affections for his cool, detached partner (imdb)

Fallen Angels

1995
Romance, Comedy
1h 39m
Your probable score
Avg Percentile 68.26% from 1639 total ratings

Ratings & Reviews

(1664)
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Rated 31 Dec 2009
90
96th
Beautiful and twisted, this is a feast for the eyes and ears all the way through. The meat of the film lies in the numerous emotions and feelings one gets out of the experience rather than in the plot or character development. A work of mad genius.
Rated 30 Nov 2011
56
24th
There's a few good scenes in here but they're drowned out by mediocre ones and the completely overbearing style. Often hard to care for the characters and their frequently sociopathic actions. Feels like unprocessed leftovers from Chungking Express, with a fraction of the charm.
Rated 04 Mar 2013
95
99th
cuz i'm cool
Rated 31 Aug 2021
6
35th
Almost as if Chunking Express was drunkenly directed by John Woo on a pub crawl through a neon-lit Hong Kong. The soundtrack and cinematography are cool as fuck - love me some Christopher Doyle - but they're wasted on a story that has a hard time balancing its many different moods, characters and tones into one satisfying and coherent whole.
Rated 28 Sep 2012
86
90th
A crazy tapestry of a film, woven together by the characters' intense longing for shared experience and connection. Perhaps not quite as sharp as Chungking nor as measured and poignant as In the mood for Love, but another excellent Wong K.W. film, layered with saturated colours, cold greys and a touch of distortion.
Rated 06 Aug 2010
88
87th
Hyperkinetic editing, distorted lenses, canted angles, switches to black-and-white, adjustments to speed and clarity of image... Wong employs literally everything in his arsenal in his attempt to evoke these five characters' mad desperation to connect to someone around them, and damned it isn't utterly marvelous. Look at the go-for-broke style here, compare it to the aesthetic rigor of In the Mood for Love, and be amazed. Oh, and it's morbidly hilarious, too.
Rated 03 Mar 2010
85
92nd
This film is often overlooked by film buffs in favor of Chungking Express but I feel this is a more viscerally beautiful film. In Chungking Express the emotions were more sentimental while Fallen Angels is more about bittersweet feelings. Several scenes are simply incredible..the low rent motel where you can see the train pass by, the tunnel, and the ice cream truck. Even if you don't get the characters it's not hard to feel a bit sad at the end. KWW films have to be felt and not just viewed.
Rated 28 Jul 2017
75
65th
Fallen Angels is better than Chungking Express. More effort is put into having the disparate stories connect to each other both literally and thematically. As a wandering city romantic I wanted to like this more than I did, but Wong's excessively quirky characters drag down the genuine emotion in the narrative and make the magic feel too artificial. The two manic pixie dream girls in particular are obnoxious and shatter the mood of the film.
Rated 11 Nov 2013
5
91st
Another lovely mosaic of the lonely and broken-hearted, this time a cast of eccentric nighthawks who exist only in Hong Kong's desolate and dreamy early hours, when the streets are empty of anything save desire. Wong's style has never been more ostentatious or eye-catching, and despite its debt to a very 90s conception of "cool," somehow it's not aged a day.
Rated 04 Jul 2013
67
88th
Aspects of this I still find fucking incredible, but, on rewatch, I certainly overrated what is a wackier, flashier, but ultimately sub-"Gummo" film. Rating may drop further.
Rated 07 Sep 2012
80
88th
You say style like it's a bad thing
Rated 11 Aug 2012
3
28th
Definitely felt like the leftover excrement of Chunking Express, which it was. Has a handful of really cool scenes but there's not really a story to tell and you can only get by on looking cool for so long before it gets boring. Enjoyed the use of music but the cinematography takes you out of the film sometimes, almost as if the cinematographer is saying "look how much of an artist I am!!" WKW has done much better work
Rated 20 Apr 2012
61
17th
I'm shocked by the universal praise for this mess, and can only attribute it to respect for the director's other works. This was awful, a boring story, annoying characters, pathetic camera tricks. I love his other films, but I just wanted this to be over.
Rated 26 May 2011
85
84th
It's pretty much more Chungking Express, and I ain't gonna complain. Characters' behavior is clearly an exaggerated expression of social intricacies, but upon further reflection, the wonderful thing is that they're not really so far removed from reality. The film walks this fine line between sincerity and absurdity. It's like the embodiments of comedy and tragedy are staring at each other through a mirror and having a conversation about loneliness and communication in a densely urban world.
Rated 06 Dec 2010
50
28th
Style over substance - characters are either "quirky" or cliché but never engaging.
Rated 27 Oct 2010
89
92nd
Wonderful series of fleeting emotional moments with a small cast of interesting characters. As you'd expect the visual and aural style is strong and really enjoyable and together these aspects create a really enjoyable series of moods.
Rated 23 Sep 2010
10
98th
Style to boot. A Chow Yun Fat esque killer, an energetic mute, a sleek, sexy agent and others punctuate the fast, neon-bleached look of WKW's world. Stunning, visually, and enough obscure narrative and unabashed humor to energize every pan and cut, it's hard to not be entertained, although that's not all a viewer will get from it.
Rated 22 Jan 2010
99
99th
A melancholy movie about love and isolation that also manages to be the coolest and sexiest film ever made. I get the feeling that this film exudes the mood and atmosphere of Hong Kong at night. A ravishing, sensual pleasure in every respect.
Rated 27 Aug 2008
85
93rd
One is the loneliest number.
Rated 05 Feb 2008
87
89th
Incredibly beautiful. It's like the first part of Chungking Express with even less plot and even more impressionism.
Rated 25 Jan 2008
94
98th
When I first saw the poster advertising Pulp Fiction, I expected that movie to be exactly what this film is--sleazy and chaotic, with moments of intense poignancy. The soundtrack is incredible and the cinematography concentrates on a distorted sensory bombardment all to great effect. It's all sensuous and sultry enough to be vulgar, all the while bizarre and illogical enough to be hilarious. This is what Pulp Fiction should have been and better. A must see film.
Rated 23 May 2024
67
53rd
Chungking Sluggish - Hi-ooooooooo. Marvel at my wit and be astounded! From Wikipedia: "'Chungking' in the title refers to Chungking Mansions in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong, where Wong grew up in the 1960s. 'Express' refers to the food stand Midnight Express, located in Lan Kwai Fong, an area in Central, Hong Kong." Well, crap.
Rated 29 Feb 2024
68
35th
I had been looking forward to this one for a while, so I'm a bit disappointed. It's a decent film, but not what I expected from Wong. The stylization is often cool, but there's too much of it. It becomes distracting. Unusual angles and compositions, various lenses, some frenetic editing at times, black and white thrown in occasionally...it's just all over the place and detracts from the story. The music is perfect. This might be one I give another try at some point but it didn't hit for me.
Rated 19 Feb 2024
50
26th
Impressively stylised, but once again I was caught off-guard by a Kar-Wai Wong film and confused many of the characters, and hadn't a clue what was going on, and because of this I did not care. But I'm also high enough to have rated the wrong film initially, doh!
Rated 23 Oct 2023
9
87th
Fun and a little like Tampopo, though nothing is as good as Tampopo, obviously.
Rated 07 Dec 2022
55
39th
'In the Mood for Love' and '2046' are great in my book but this didn't do much for me. I guess it's probably only worth a poke if you liked 'Chungking Express'.
Rated 05 Aug 2022
86
94th
With self narration by each of the characters, the audience gets to peer into their lives. Stylishly shot, with a cool soundtrack, the movie is an intimate look at love and chaos of neon lit, cigarette smoke filled Hong Kong. Funny and poignant, the emotional impact of the film isn’t truly felt until the end.
Rated 05 Aug 2022
78
84th
Nice wide angle lens, nice soundtrack. Satisfying ending even with unconventional plot line
Rated 31 Dec 2021
100
99th
capturing loneliness arising from never-ending longing for others (or because of it) but still messing it up when there comes *one of the ones* is an incredibly hard thing that kar-wai wong masters. all those weird characters and their funny routines, expressive and interesting frames, evocative use of music...
Rated 18 Jul 2021
30
15th
I lost interest 1/3 of the way through. WKW/Doyle have beautiful images but I just was not interested in the characters. I don't care for the manic female characters like in Chungking Express. TBF I'm probably a bigger fan of the older Hong Kong time period. Scenes felt like deleted material from Chungking. Maybe I'll like this more on rewatch. Fav scene: the former classmate trying to reconnect with Leon Lai on the bus.
Rated 03 Mar 2020
90
93rd
Gummo-esque claustrophobic capitalism and the eccentrics born in the burbling urge to escape it or understand your place in it, night life as incredibly cool and smoky as it is absurdly violent and hectic, romance and gunplay and imposed business all have the same end goal of making it through the current night, cuz God knows where daylight leaves these souls. WKW makes all of this almost impossibly beautiful and honest, and funny in a way I can't compare to anything else I've ever seen.
Rated 11 Nov 2019
75
41st
WKW's follow up to Chungking Express let's itself embark in a cool and more fragmented version, that pulls the same ideas to make a melancholic but beautiful eye for human connection. Some clever concepts scattered throughout carry a certain humour and emotion that make it enjoyable.
Rated 15 Oct 2015
55
48th
The premise--isolation in a hurried, deaf crowd embedded in a concrete jungle--held some potential.
Rated 17 Nov 2013
60
26th
The frenetic style here seems haphazard rather than deeply connected to the narrative or characters. While the melancholy is already here in full force, I much prefer the formal rigor of Wong's In the Mood for Love.
Rated 08 Oct 2012
45
4th
Certainly has a captivating style but everything else just left me cold. The almost nonexistent plot is so slow, and boring. The Characters are all horribly written. Just messy garbage covered in an interesting wrapper.
Rated 22 Jun 2012
83
64th
One of the most stylized of Wong's films, to the point of excess. The visuals and music are excellent, but the writing is a little too meandering and less 'tight' than Wong's other work.
Rated 26 Nov 2011
80
76th
Overwhelming. The closest thing I can compare this to is early Godard, but whereas I find Godard dry and full of contrived coolness, I found this exciting, visceral, and genuinely hip in a way that few filmmakers can achieve. Sure, it's light on plot, but I was never a plot guy to begin with. Overall, a visually stunning, extremely energetic load of style over substance. I will have to reevaluate my opinion of Kar Wai Wong after this one.
Rated 20 Apr 2011
80
87th
Wonderful; a great companion-piece to Chungking Express.
Rated 12 Mar 2011
75
67th
tembel tetikci, iliski beceriksizi menajeri, dilsiz firlama genc, kirik sarisin, hala asik kiz ve kar wai wong'un melankolik, ruyavari dinamik kamerasi-cekici kadraji ile tam bir karmacoma. ask filmlerinin dikkate deger yonetmeninden kalbi kirik meleklerin hikayesi.
Rated 10 Oct 2024
20
5th
Cinematography: feels like it tries so hard to be "cool" that it's just overbearing, at some points i felt actually physically sick. Story: i get that not using typical storytelling seems to be a thing with this guy, but this one felt like it just went to far to the point that there's not really a story anymore. Characters: i truly didn't care. Point for trying different things.
Rated 31 Aug 2024
98
97th
It really is the moodier, older sibling of Chungking Express. Both films share some themes of unrequited love, loneliness and grief, and this movie almost feels like all of that but fully realized? The two movies really do demand to be seen with each other back-to-back. This is a very slick movie with a remarkably seamless blend of genres. It’s very funny at times (LOVED He Zhiwu), but also very endearing and emotional in a way that only WKW is able to convey. Short, gritty, amazing cinema.
Rated 27 Jun 2024
99
96th
Wong Kar Wai's brilliance lies in showing us new ways of seeing, the hidden diversity that lies beneath the banal: the highest praise I can give a director (and of course cinematographer.)
Rated 08 Mar 2024
100
84th
How are his films so beautiful?
Rated 03 Feb 2024
65
87th
A clear case of style over substance, but the style's great; beautifully shot and all that. I hope they used a fake pig for that one scene but if they didn't, fuck them for it.
Rated 15 Dec 2023
100
96th
I really loved it, even if it's closer to a purely aesthetic experience than his films that deal with more fundamental human issues. That's not to dismiss this as an empty film. It deals with isolation and the difficulty in forging real connections, but most of the draw here is the cool atmosphere and gorgeous cinematography from Christopher Doyle.
Rated 15 Aug 2023
60
10th
the editing, style, atmosphere was all really good. But the characters and the plot(more like the lack there of) wasnt really cutting it for me.
Rated 29 Jun 2022
83
80th
A simplistic atmospherical Hong Kong movie. About the fimilar feeling of loneliness. Every single shot is at night with bright neon lights on and a cigarette in someone's hand. It is beautifully simplistic with there only being a very few amounts of notable characters. It's the feeling of being sleep-deprived, driving late at night like in a dreamy state. And the amazing music only adds to the experience, Only You by The Flying Pickets is truly perfect for this movie. But too little story.
Rated 22 Jun 2022
89
91st
Wong’s most underrated? Both his darkest and funniest film, as well as perhaps my personal favourite visually - those wide angle close-ups are SO good
Rated 22 May 2022
75
80th
Funny, tragic, horny, neonoirish action comedy about unrequited love and chaos of everyday life. Main character is Hong Kong, where these characters wander in all sorts of situations -- the existential hitman and the partner who loves him, but seems unable to have him; the mute youngster who runs his 'own business' by invading stores overnight and forcing people to pay him not to do things. Loses bit of steam in the second half -- maybe because it was always destined to be a Chungking segment.
Rated 20 Jan 2022
75
38th
Heavily relying on mood, the visual factors take a central role in understanding the film. Needs another time and another frame of mind.
Rated 30 Dec 2021
8
72nd
Hong Kong is intoxicating.
Rated 13 Aug 2021
65
34th
Very pretty pictures can't overshadow the strong slmell of pretentiousness.
Rated 06 Aug 2021
75
59th
LX???????????????????/"????????????????????????"/???????????
Rated 27 May 2021
90
90th
Not the excrement of Chunking Express, the afterglow
Rated 25 May 2021
84
79th
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Rated 17 May 2021
55
15th
I wanted to like this one. I really did. It started off the first few scenes with good pacing, nice soundtrack, and what appeared to be an intriguing plot: an assassin roaming the neon-streets of 90s Hong Kong blasting two pistols akimbo. I mean, fuck, what else do you want? But ultimately, it's all sizzle and no steak. This is a highly stylized film but the plot is paper thin. The acting may be solid, I suppose, but when there isn't much of a story or even sharp dialogue-- whats the point?
Rated 14 May 2021
100
90th
Not perfect in the best way. But is there any other films that has this "feel". We as a species do not have words to describe this.
Rated 15 Mar 2021
75
34th
Had stunning visuals but just felt like it was lacking a lot of things that are generally in movies. Felt like it was 3/4th of a movie where that 3/4 was really good.
Rated 28 Dec 2020
70
7th
-3 For ronald mcdonald woman
Rated 07 Nov 2020
77
79th
The story focus on the characters, showing who they are, despite their actions. One of the characters records his father and in the footage he can remember who he was, the movie does the same with the characters: shows who they were, not just on the outside, but also on the inside (the narration translates their interior voice). Still, much of what is shown as reality is a romantic allegory of the interior of the characters. Brilliant direction, great soundtrack.
Rated 07 Sep 2020
85
78th
Anjos Caídos estreava há 25 anos em Hong Kong. Não é sempre que estou com paciência para o Wong Kar Wai, digo esteticamente mesmo, mas os personagens desse filme são tão deliciosamente malucos que não tem como não amar. Plus: Takeshi Kaneshiro crush eterno. DVD Obras-primas do Cinema.
Rated 12 Jun 2020
95
99th
Yes, still love this one. Fast-paced, plenty of quirky characters and events, and the colors... ah man, the colors!
Rated 10 Apr 2020
80
57th
w/ Gaye
Rated 23 Mar 2020
1
8th
Rated 20 Feb 2020
85
84th
WKW empties the clip
Rated 05 Dec 2019
65
22nd
beautiful movie for sure. just this 'cigarette smoker - attractive - lonely - weird - searching liberation in romantic relationships' kind of exaggerated model of human doesn't move me anymore. maybe it's more than this, a second watch in a different time could change things because people are saying this is better than chungking express and i like that.
Rated 03 Dec 2019
84
84th
Great technical side and good stories. Definitely needs a re-watch someday.
Rated 23 Jul 2019
61
18th
One of the rare Wong Kar-Wai films to make me ask: Who cares? Weightless in almost every respect, 'Fallen Angels' is the bastard child to 'Chungking Express'' masterful evocation of melancholic longing. Almost more regrettably, as is wont for many films of the mid-90s, it's laden with digital effects and cinematographic techniques (transitions to B&W, a fetish for fisheye lens and fast-motion) serving no purpose other than existing to exist.
Rated 16 May 2019
9
97th
Top five of the 90s, for me. It's WKW so of course it's very beautiful and everybody smokes a lot, Ho Chi-mo is one of the most appealing characters in the history of cinema - and my god, that ending...
Rated 06 Aug 2018
5
93rd
Vibe: 1990s MTV. The most unabashed exhibition of Wong's aesthetic signatures. So hyperactive it might nearly be described as madcap, and quite a bit more humorous than its companion piece. There are a few instances, particularly in the episodes about Kaneshiro's mute, when quirkiness borders on grating, but after all the film lands with the grace and pathos about lonely souls in the big city that one expects from this filmmaker.
Rated 08 Jul 2018
85
90th
Won Kar-Wai is a real artist, and there's real beauty in the depiction of alienation and isolation. And a good dose of humor--Charlie Yeung's scenes are quite fabulous. Originally intended to be the third episode of "Chungking Express", it was expanded to be its own film, and it shows. Quite a few of the scenes feel too long, though that gets better toward the end.
Rated 16 May 2018
75
68th
A hired-gunman and a prostitute, both have the most transient relations with other people. One makes love, the other kills them, both w/o any acquaintance or any affection. Including the mute guy drifting to different shops, these are young people stuck in the limbo of H-Kong's past & present (neon lights & childish Kawai culture against the backdrop of a pop culture of mafia and gunmen) searching for affection & love in an absurdly alienated world. Melancholic like all WKW movies.
Rated 29 Mar 2018
4
72nd
Probably overvalued but that ending and the part with the killer are very good and hit me right in the gut.
Rated 25 Apr 2016
79
84th
No heatwaves are without sweat, but some do not manage to get out of the body.
Rated 24 Jan 2016
95
69th
Brilliant
Rated 03 Nov 2015
89
93rd
This film is so ravishing that one can overlook some of the plot cliches and unsympathetic characters. Somehow incredibly stylish, sexy and moving.
Rated 08 Feb 2015
56
18th
Like Chungking Express, this film largely fell flat for me. The visuals and screen presence of the leads aren't as good as some of Wong's other films. ps71
Rated 07 Oct 2013
88
95th
87.500
Rated 29 Aug 2013
8
86th
This film felt like what I imagine riding in a low-rider in LA circa 1988 feels like. You go up and down, through scenes of intense action and scenes of heartbreak, only to float the entire time. Kar Wai Wong never loses engagement or his tone; Fallen Angels is distinctive, beautiful, and expressive from beginning to end.
Rated 01 May 2013
80
82nd
watched: 2013, 2021
Rated 27 Oct 2012
60
30th
Uneven and over stylized, Wong Kar Wai's follow up to Chungking Express is missing the charm and engaging story threads of the former. There are moments of frenetic beauty and some interesting thoughts on life tossed out by our protagonists. The random shifts to black and white and the sequences of grating inanity don't aren't entirely made up for with the home video nostalgia or the incredibly well done hit scenes.
Rated 01 Oct 2012
68
77th
Revisited (2)
Rated 28 Aug 2012
98
98th
Less stylistically restrained than Chungking Express to the point that it gets intrusive, it goes in a very different, more melancholy direction. The two films work together very well. Charlie Yeung's scene waiting at the Midnight Express is note-perfect.
Rated 10 Aug 2012
83
80th
Really great characters and style.
Rated 09 Aug 2012
74
74th
Great direction. That is all.
Rated 02 Dec 2011
52
4th
#961
Rated 22 Apr 2011
70
56th
The cinematography is cool and it definitely retains WKW's sharp style, but the story this time isn't as engaging. There are a handful of brilliant scenes, but overall he's just retreading.
Rated 10 Apr 2011
95
87th
While summaries of this film point to the hitman as being the central figure in this film, the other main characters really steal the movie. Wonderful cinematography is almost disorienting in how beautiful, yet distracting, the shots are. The luminescent nighttime setting of Hong Kong (as always) makes for a perfect film venue and is utilized spectacularly. Actors play their roles well. While the plot lacks in a general sense because of its experimentality, the rest of the film is remarkable.
Rated 05 Apr 2011
85
90th
Weird, funny, hectic, and, by the end, melancholy. Beautiful last scene(s). Really lol'd at the whole ice cream truck affair. Great stuff.
Rated 16 Dec 2010
8
84th
The duo of Wong Kar-Wai and cinematographer Christopher Doyle once again strike cinematic gold in a movie that is meant to be first and foremost sensed and felt - and only intuitively understood. The story is confounding to say the least. Tilted framings, fisheye wide-angle shots and exceptionally colorful urban locales (back alleys, tunnels, small apartments with trains visibly whizzing by etc.) make you feel at turns overwhelmed and lonely, ecstatic and hopeful. Just like the main characters.
Rated 24 Sep 2010
66
74th
More of a collection of vignettes on urban alienation and loneliness than a cohesive movie, it nonetheless radiates that distinctive Wong Kar Wai spontaneity, looseness and crazy all-over-the-place energy that you see in Chungking Express as well. Best appreciated moment to moment.
Rated 26 Aug 2010
5
76th
A beautiful mix of cinematography, cool music, and a simple, but interesting story create a unique setting and atmosphere. It might seem like all style on the surface, but on second viewing I connected with the characters a lot more and it has now become one of my favorite films.
Rated 06 Jul 2010
84
93rd
Doesn't look at good as other Kar Wai movies, but the writing and characters are just as good.
Rated 03 Mar 2010
100
96th
100
Rated 15 Jan 2010
53
6th
932
Rated 23 Jul 2009
3
74th
My first WKW film, I was pretty excited to watch this. It's very different, I honestly can't say I've seen anything like it--wide angle lenses and interesting cinematography from Doyle highlight Hong Kong's beautifully dingy, rainy night streets. Check it out for something different.
Rated 09 Jun 2009
90
74th
I just watched this for the second time, and I've gotta say: always give a Wong Kar Wai movie a second chance.
Rated 28 May 2009
98
98th
As Tears go by,Ashes of Time,Days of being Wild,In the Mood for Love,Chungking Express,Fallen Angels,2046, My blueberry nights. Every Movie is one Puzzle with 1.000 of Fragments and variables to get replaced and shift to so many combinations. Fallen Angels is the darkest and sadest of his Movies by now. Awesome
Rated 27 Jan 2009
85
88th
Maybe it was the weather, but that night I found her very alluring.
Rated 20 Jan 2009
85
71st
Very entertaining and surprisingly funny, but doesn't hit on that core emotional level that other WKW films have for me.

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