Fallen Angels [Blu-ray]

Though there does not seem to be a direct plot link between "Chungking" and "Fallen Angels" the same way there was between the two segments of "Chungking Express" (where Cop 223 turned down a suggestion of a date with Faye only hours before she fell in love with Cop 663, and Faye and 663 make brief background appearances in segment one), there are many connections. Some locations seem to be the same, and although the fast food joint Midnight Express so central to "Chunking Express" does not play the same role here, the restaurant and its proprietor do enter near the end. The mute ex-con (prisoner #223) of Fallen Angels and Cop #223 of CKE are both played by the same actor (Takeshi Kaneshiro) and both named He Qiwu [per subtitles; IMDB has He Zhiwu, closer to the soundtrack]. He Qiwu of Fallen Angels was made mute by a can of expired pineapple, while CKE's Cop #223 was obsessed with about-to-expire pineapple cans. At one point the Mute dances briefly in Midnight Express with the same moves used by Faye, as she danced her way through her work at the restaurant in CKE. Where Faye invaded Cop #663's apartment in Chungking Express to simply be in his space, and later to bring to it light and life, the Agent's obsession is darker as she invades the hitman's anonymous rooms to sweep up and carry away her partner's detritus to her own room (in the hotel the Mute's father manages), where she examines it for clues to his personal life and habits.

As these complexities might indicate, "Fallen Angels" repays repeated viewing -- in the sense that your understanding of the film will deepen, as will its emotional impact, not in the sense of a film student obsessing with technicalities. There is just too much in the film to completely take it in on first viewing, which is not to say that the first viewing won't be a sock in the gut, a magnificent swirling collage of images, sounds and quirky characters.

WKW often makes music an integral part of his films, and the choice here is superb -- poignant and evocative, multilingual and multicontinental, each thematic piece fitting exactly mood and character -- and is perhaps what sticks most lingeringly in the mind. (I only wish it were credited, or there were a soundtrack album!)

The first time I saw "Fallen Angels" I thought it ended on a melancholy, even depressing, note. It seemed as if the characters were not about to make any transition, not even to escape, as they do in the each episode of "Chungking Express". If there is redemption here, it is in very small ways, and maybe that is what Wong is saying -- we can only hope for momentary hope, not a better tomorrow but a brief respite before tomorrow. Life goes on, maybe, a little longer, and we must find what solace we can, while we can, in someone to hold for a night or just a motorcycle ride. Several viewings later, though, the film becomes transformative, and if not optimistic, redemptive and even joyful Yes, it seems to say, that *is* all there is ... but that ain't bad.

(A note re those who had problems with the transfer or subtitles: I've been bitten by horrible transfers of other Asian films, but I viewed a recent copy of the US DVD release, and it seems just fine. An older VHS was not so good but acceptable. I don't recall any problems with the subtitles, and bad ones frequently drive me to frothing rage.)