Editor's Note: This is the second part in a weekly series examining films of the past.
Quentin Tarantino is said to have called Wong Kar-Wai the coolest filmmaker out there -- and he wasn't exaggerating.Wong Kar-Wai wrote and directed the cult classic film "Chungking Express" (1994), which Quentin Tarantino immediately fell in love with and distributed in the United States. But this Hong Kong director and screenwriter has released many more films that have been, for the most part, sleepers among stateside audiences, including "Fallen Angels" (1995), the companion piece to "Chungking Express"
"Fallen Angels" brilliantly showcases the creative vision of Wong Kar-Wei. Just think back to the mid-'90s and recall what the word cool meant for you; we're talking about the suave, apathetic, chain-smoking rebel in a grungy wasteland of neon lights; MTV and "Beavis and Butthead." Now take that environment and move it to Hong Kong. Make it grimier, sleazier, emptier -- and you are getting close to this film's style. It's no wonder Tarantino looked up to Wong Kar Wai's "cool."
From the opening sequence, the film sets a distinctive ambience. Shots at bizarre angles, fish-eye lenses and many other perspective-distorting techniques all work to squeeze the viewer into a claustrophobic city wasteland. The perpetual night is splashed and painted in bright lights. It seems this is a city that never sleeps and yet there's a nocturnal emptiness that pervades.
The plot is akin to that of Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction" (1994). It's bizarre and disjointed, but aside from the imagery, the film hinges on the main characters. They are all wonderfully brought to life as bold, strange individuals. The first is the hit man, who is portrayed by the fairly prolific Chinese actor Leon Lai. He strolls leisurely through crowded restaurants, barbershops and other grimy places of business, as a deafening drum-heavy soundtrack drowns out everything. A slow-paced rhythm and echoing instruments lead us along, as a man drones on in Cantonese only to switch to English and proclaim "'Cause I'm cool. 'Cause I'm cool." He isn't lying.
The hit man's accomplice, played by Michelle Reis, is another strikingly memorable character, if only because of how she is filmed. Her close-ups are at awkward angles and she seems to be constantly smoking, her cigarette-smoking hand shaking relentlessly. That image oozes with anxiety and infects the viewer. It made me physically nervous.
A third character, a mute ex-convict played by Takeshi Kaneshiro (the actor who would later play Jin in 2004's "House of Flying Daggers") takes this film in the direction of complete lunacy. He breaks into stores at night and "coerces" passersby to use the services offered there, which range from forced haircuts to equally forced ice cream consumption. Kaneshiro's character is in love with a woman who is seeking the notorious Blondie, the woman who "stole" her boyfriend. Obsessed in her quest to find this Blondie, she takes Kaneshiro's character along for the surprisingly violent ride.
The film draws upon a very claustrophobic, schizophrenic narrative that includes both humor and moments of emotional poignancy. Wong Kar-Wei masterfully weaves the stories of these four characters and frames them so that that it's impossible to look away. The style, the cool, and everything fits together so distinctively. It's unforgettable.
