Do lok tin si / Fallen Angels (1995) - A Nocturnal Portrayal of the Confusing Ways of British Hong Kong's Underworld - 8/10 (15/10/24)

Fallen Angels, originally titled Do lok tin si, is a gangster drama from British Hong Kong and the fifth feature film released by renowned director Wong Kar-wai. This movie is sometimes described as a sequel to much more light-hearted comedy drama Chungking Express, originally known as Chung Hing sam lam. However, only a few locations in downtown Hong Kong are the same. The contents are generally unrelated and both movies can thus be enjoyed independently.

The story revolves around hitman Wong Chi-ming who lives in a chaotic apartment and has taken on a fake identity with a fake wife and a fake child. He starts a fragile relationship with a delusional young woman with eccentric behaviour named Blondie. He starts thinking about changing his life and wants to terminate his business relationship with his female partner who secretly has a crush on him. She is shocked to hear that he wants to change his career and sends him on a last dangerous mission.

This movie is Wong Kar-wai's strongest film up to this point in his career. The story comes around with multiple twists and turns, some evoking negative and others leading to positive reactions. The characters have much depth and go through profound changes such as the sad hitman and his disappointed partner. This personal drama is intertwined with violent action scenes portraying the rough jobs and lifestyles of the main characters. The entire film takes place at night which adds much atmosphere and shows how the characters live separately in the underworld from regular citizens living in a legal manner.

The only elements that keep this film from being excellent are a rather slow start that requests much patience from its audience and the fact that a few too many sub-stories and side characters are included in this film. Wong Kar-wai could have easily made three movies of about seventy-five minutes each out of this one single film of ninety-six minutes.

Thanks to its creative details, Fallen Angels deserves to be watched time and again and analyzed in depth if you favour melancholic gangster dramas. Wong Kar-wao remains faithful to his unique style but executes all elements with much creativity, drive and experience. Fallen Angels is the director's greatest film up to this point in his career and also serves as an excellent introduction to his fascinating filmography to potential new fans.

Chung Hing sam lam / Chungking Express (1994) - Lonesome Lovers Meeting in the Big City Life - 7/10 (11/10/24)

Chungking Express, originally known as Chung Hing sam lam, is Wong Kar-wai's third feature film to be released and fourth feature film to be made. This romantic drama has been critically acclaimed and can be considered the director's international breakthrough. This movie includes numerous characteristic elements of his previous films such as a strong focus on character development, slice-of-life elements combining different genres and overlapping storylines that don't necessarily have clear beginnings and endings.

It would be most appropriate to call this film a romantic drama. The first story revolves around young police officer He Qiwu who is dumped by his girlfriend. He decides to wait an entire month to see whether she changes her mind. When this doesn't happen, he approaches a mysterious woman in a blonde wig in a girlie bar who turns out to be a drug dealer who has been set up by a drug baron.

The second story revolves around a cop who is about ten years older than his colleague and who also has to deal with a difficult breakup. His former girlfriend is a flight attendant who values her profession over her relationship. When she leaves a letter with a key to his apartment at his favourite restaurant, a new employee starts developing feelings for the cop and secretly visits his apartment to clean and decorate it. When the two finally decide to go on a date, the young employee suddenly decides to leave for California to become a flight attendant.

This movie impresses for several reasons. First and foremost, the characters are detailed, profound and unique as viewers will easily empathize with them. It's fascinating to observe their developments and relations. Since we are not told everything by the director, this movie invites us to figure out the rest by ourselves. It's refreshing to get such a unique script that takes its viewers seriously.

The settings are also memorable. Once again, Wong Kar-wai manages to bring British Hong Kong in the mid-nineties to life. We get to observe the location's big city life where lives of human beings of many different backgrounds intertwine. The titular restaurant, the girlie bar and the second cop's apartment are locations that any viewer could possibly discover which makes it easy to empathize with the two stories that are being told.

Last but not least, one has to point out the excellent acting throughout the movie and I have to point out Faye Wong who plays the restaurant's employee in particular. Her curious, mild and naive manners strike a chord with viewers. Her passion for animals, food and music is inspiring. The way she behaves, dresses and takes care of herself and others shows a unique human being with much depth. The fact that Faye Wong contributed to the soundtrack of this film makes the connection between the artist and the audience even greater. Faye Wong truly shines in this movie and I would recommend watching this film just for seeing an excellent artist at work.

As usual, even this critically acclaimed romantic drama isn't without its flaws. The first story only covers about one third of the movie and should have been developed further in my humble opinion. This story line ends without a proper conclusion and the two interesting characters would have deserved to be fleshed out even further.

The second story on the other hand slightly overstays its welcome. Especially its middle section includes some unnecessary repetition. The movie is thus a tiny little bit too long. It would work even better if it had been cut by about twenty minutes.

At the end of the day, Chungking Express offers Wong Kar-wai's typical trademarks and stands out thanks to Faye Wong's astonishing participation as a gifted actress and a unique singer. I wouldn't go as far to say that this is Wong Kar-wai's greatest feature film. It rather underlines the director's consistency as this movie has the same very good quality as the preceding As Tears Go By, Days of Being Wild and Ashes of Time. It truly is a matter of detailed personal preferences whether you appreciate this movie most or any other of the three films shot beforehand. My best advice would be to watch all four movies if you are interested in realistic dramas set in British Hong Kong of the late eighties and early nineties.

Dung che sai duk / Ashes of Time (1994) - Solitary Soul(s) on a Quest for Redemption - 7/10 (15/01/16)

Ashes of Time, originally known as Dung che sai duk, is a unique arthouse film which is loosely bound upon Jin Yong's wuxia novel The Legend of the Condor Heroes. Despite two blurry action sequences, this movie however can't be considered a martial arts movie. Due to its philosophical content, its numerous metaphors, its examples of symbolism and its calm episodic script, this movie could best be categorized as a drama. The movie is separated into five sections according to the four seasons with the spring season representing both introduction and coda of this piece of art. Director Wong Kar-wai doesn't offer any conclusion to the film's vague story and instead challenges the audience to make sense of this film on its own.

The only guiding lines of the movie are the changes of season, the transformation of colourful landscapes and the topic of unrequited love and how to deal with that depressing fate. Each character has faced, currently faces or will face a desperate romantic relationship and everyone of them tries to find a different solution: one of them simply tries to forget the past, another one seeks refuge in isolation and another one wants to assassinate the one who causes all the emotional and mental suffering. In the end, none of the characters can find a satisfying answer on their quest for redemption. Despite the depressing tone, the beginning of the movie can be interpreted as the origin of a quest for redemption while the coda might be seen as an optimistic attempt at renaissance.

This film can be interpreted in at least two ways. One possibility is that the main location in form of a bare cabin in the desert is a meeting point for solitary souls who feel outcast from society and who are absorbed by their mental problems. The main character listens to their different stories and often manages to find solutions for them but he is still unable to solve his own problems. Another possibility is that this movie is only about the main character and that the side characters only exist on his confused mind and represent different sides of his shattered soul looking for salvation.

Despite its colourful journey, inspiring philosophical content and revolutionary visual component, this courageous piece of art is not appropriate for mainstream audiences and might even be hard to digest for passionate cineasts. The movie's pace is extremely slow and it contains several noticeable lengths towards the middle. While the few fight choreographies could have spiced things up a little bit, they happen to be rather redundant, slow and unspectacular.

In the end, you should absolutely watch this movie if you have an open mind for philosophical arthouse experiments that request your intellectual participation. You should avoid it if you are expecting a vivid wuxia movie or a tense martial arts film because your expectations won't be met and you will end up being disappointed.

Ah fei jing juen / Days of Being Wild (1990) - Desperate Characters Are Chasing Dreams in British Hong Kong and the Philippines - 7/10 (08/10/24)

Days of Being Wild, originally known as Ah fei jing juen, is the second feature film of renowned director Wong Kar-wai. While his first movie explored the identity of British Hong Kong's underworld, this movie takes place in the early sixties and is set in Hong Kong as well as in the Philippines. The genre categorization is much simpler than in his first film as Days of Being Wild is a drama.

The same can't be said about the script. Several stories intertwine in this particular movie. The central character is smooth-talking playboy Yuddy who looks attractive but has a shallow character. He wants to meet his birth mother who lives in the Philippines but she refuses to even see him. This movie also explores the life of his best friend Zeb who has a heart of gold but ends up being underestimated as he can't compete with Yuddy's physical appearance. We also explore the life of Li-zhen who does a series of odd jobs and dreams of a successful mariage inspired her cousin but her potential relationships never materialize. The movie also introduces us to vivacious cabaret dancer Mimi who is judged by her beauty but longs for a serious long-term relationship. Lastly, we have lonesome policeman Tide who takes care of his sick mother and dreams of becoming a sailor. The element that all these characters have in common is that they are all chasing dreams to change their lives.

This movie convinces on several levels. First and foremost, the different characters are memorable, profound and unique. Most viewers might find one or several characters they can empathize with. The character I identified with most is helpful policeman Tide who values his family but finds the courage to organize changes in his life to make his biggest dream come true.

Another strong element of this film are the settings that bring the early sixties back to life. It's interesting to explore both the impoverished and luxurious elements of British Hong Kong and to explore the contrast of big city life and vast landscapes in the Philippines. The director has paid much attention to use appropriate cars, clothing and telephones that give this movie a most realistic vibe.

My favourite scenes from this movie are those that take place in the Philippines. The film quickens up the pace a little bit when cineasts discover locations such as a sinister hotel frequented by prostitutes, a gigantic mansion in the wilderness and an elegant train station filled with a set of dangerous criminals.

Days of Being Wild is however not without several flaws. This movie is best described as a slice-of-life with some stories that are truly interesting while others aren't explored in depth. For instance, Zeb's gentle character isn't fully developed to exploit its full potential.

Another significant issue is the low quality of the cinematography. The images in the opening sequence for instance look dark and lifeless. The film's remastered version looks slightly better but can't fully hide that significant flaw. A more luminous location and better camera equipment would have rated that slow opening sequence up.

At the end of the day, Days of Being Wild is recommended to fans of director Wong Kar-wai, people who are interested in life in Hong Kong and in the Philippines in the early sixties and cineasts who appreciate slow-paced personal dramas that need some patience to be fully appreciated.

Wong Gok ka moon / As Tears Go By (1988) - The Heart and Soul of British Hong Kong - 7/10 (07/10/24)

As Tears Go By, originally known as Wong Gok ka moon, is the directorial debut of Wong Kar-wai, who was only twenty-nine years old when this film was first released. This movie features many other excellent actresses and actors from Hong Kong in the early days of their careers. An astonishing Andy Lau plays the protagonist at the tender age of twenty-six years. The female lead actress is Maggie Cheung who was only just twenty-three years old but left an impressive mark upon cinema. Other notable actors are successful cantopop singer Jacky Cheung, renowned art director William Chang and veteran actor and singer Alex Man.

Nowadays, a film such as As Tears Go By would be called a slice-of-life. The movie follows moderately successful mob enforcer Wah who has to help his clumsy subordinate and friend Fly out of many dangerous situations. His life gets even more complicated when Wah is dumped by his girlfriend Mabel who also aborted their baby. Out of the blue, Wah's aunt asks him to take care of his little cousin Ngor who comes to Hong Kong for a medical procedure. The story progresses as Fly's actions spiral dangerously out of control, Wah meets Mabel again under different circumstances and he slowly falls for his cousin who however starts a relationship with her doctor.

This movie manages to convince on numerous levels. First and foremost, the acting performances are certainly above average. Lead actor Andy Lau showcases his versatile talent in this realistic film. Maggie Cheung shines as an actress who doesn't speak much but shows each gesture with much depth. Jacky Cheung excels as clumsy friend with a heart of gold. Alex Man impresses as hot-tempered antagonist who focuses more on appearances than values. The entire cast leaves a memorable and positive impression.

The settings of this film are interesting for anyone curious about Hong Kong. We get to discover rather unknown locations such as rural Lantau Island but also the big city life of downtown Hong Kong. The advertisements, clothing and music portray what this British colony looked like in the eighties. This movie most certainly evokes strong feelings of nostalgia and even longing to locals today.

The plot is a vibrant mixture of genres as it meanders fluidly from action movie over thriller to personal drama and all the way back again. This rollercoaster ride has passages focusing on character development and profound dialogues while other sections are brutal action sequences shot in the nocturnal street life of the bustling colony.

The movie has two notable issues that should be mentioned. First of all, the film suffers from its limited budget as the quality of images and sounds is rudimentary at best. While some cineasts might argue that such an approach is charming, I would actually tend to disagree here as the technical equipment doesn't do the overall very decent film justice.

Another challenge is the changing and shifting plot. This element has since become a trademark for director Wong Kar-wai but his first strike here lacks the depth of his later movies. Several plot elements are poorly developed and feel rushed. Especially the unsatisfactory ending is quite confusing and will leave most viewers scratching their heads.

Still, As Tears Go By goes down as a convincing first movie for director Wong Kar-wai thanks to excellent acting, vibrant settings and a sizzling plot with unpredictable twists and turns. This movie truly showcases the heart and soul of British Hong Kong in the late eighties. Despite the film's overall dark and even desperate atmosphere, there are enough beautiful and inspiring elements to see to understand why some viewers might feel quite nostalgic and mournful while watching this movie. Despite its flaws in form of technical limitations and a plot with many highs and lows, this film is highly recommended to any fan of Hong Kong cinema.