Fallen Angels (1995)

This Hong Kong-set crime drama follows the lives of a hitman, hoping to get out of the business, and his elusive female partner.

Director:

Kar-Wai Wong (as Kar Wai Wong)

Writer:

Kar-Wai Wong (as Kar Wai Wong)

Stars:

Leon Lai, Michelle Reis, Takeshi Kaneshiro

8 wins & 15 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Leon Lai	...	Wong Chi-Ming / Killer
Michelle Reis	...	The Killer's Agent (as Michele Reis)
Takeshi Kaneshiro	...	He Zhiwu
Charlie Yeung	...	Charlie / Cherry
Karen Mok	...	Punkie / Blondie / Baby
Fai-Hung Chan	...	The Man Forced to Eat Icecream
Man-Lei Chan	...	He Zhiwu's father (as Chen Man Lei)
Toru Saito	...	Sato
To-Hoi Kong	...	Ah-hoi
Lee-Na Kwan	...	Woman Pressed to Buy Vegetables
Yuhao Wu	...	Man forced to have his clothes washed

Storyline

A disillusioned killer embarks on his last hit but first he has to overcome his affections for his cool, detached partner. Thinking it's dangerous and improper to become involved with a colleague he sets out to find a surrogate for his affections. Against the sordid and surreal urban nightscape of contemporary Hong Kong, he crosses path with a strange drifter looking for her mysterious ex-boyfriend and an amusing mute trying to get the world's attention in his own unconventional ways.

---

Plot Keywords:

female masturbation | killer | hong kong | professional killer | hitman | 

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama | Romance

---

Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese Mandarin

Release Date:

30 January 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fallen Angels

Company Credits

Production Co:

Block 2 Pictures,Chan Ye-Cheng,Jet Tone Production

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The character He Zhiwu, who is mute but able to communicate with the audience through narration, tells us he became mute after eating a tin of pineapple with a past expiration date. A character in the earlier Kar-Wai Wong film, Chungking Express (1994), is obsessed with the expiration dates on tins of pineapple. In addition, they are both named He Zhiwu (though the character in Chungking Express (1994) is a cop, and the character in this film is a former criminal) and both are played by the actor Takeshi Kaneshiro. Also his cop number and prisoner number are the same.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
The Killer's Agent: Are we still partners?
Wong Chi-Ming: [voiceover] We've been business partners for nearly three years. This is the first time we've ever sat together. We hardly ever see each other. I know how hard it is for a man to control his passion. Partners shouldn't get emotionally involved with each other.

---

Connections

Featured in Christopher Doyle: Filming in the Neon World (2014)

---

Soundtracks

Simu de Ren
Written by Hong Yifeng and Ye Junlin
Performed by Chyi Chin

User Reviews

Another of WKW's beautiful masterpiece

WKW strikes back again with this wonderful - and different movie. The Hong Kong director brings us a unique story about loneliness. As other movies of WKW, this movies represents a wonderful visual experience. Great directing for 3 stories: The story of an assassin, lonely and living day to day deciding weather it's really worth continuing with his profession or not; the story of his partner, a beautiful woman who relies her loneliness on her obsession with her partner; and the story of a mute guy that works at night in all the closed stores and markets, and with the different encounters with a woman and his relation with his father. All three stories are stories of loneliness, of love affairs impossible to fulfill and of the wish of each one to find a meaning to their existence. Like in all movies of WKW, all characters are solitary. This movie is another one of the directors masterpieces, trying to describe all the lonely souls in Hong Kong and the impossibility of finding a meaning to their life, their professions and a meaning to love. A bizarre and great soundtrack, such as the great photography and stylish directing makes this movie a must-see in the Chinese's director.