40
A colourful and stylish romp, for sure, but a feeling of restlessness sets in long before the series of false endings that finally bring it to a close. Time passes, things happen, but nobody emerges very much wiser.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
75
San Francisco Chronicle by Edward Guthmann
It's hard to follow, the characters are ill-defined, and the wide-angle shots used by Wong's perennial cinematographer, Christopher Doyle, are deliberately unflattering.
75
San Francisco Examiner by G. Allen Johnson
Fallen Angels is proof that Wong will try anything, and the result is an eclectic mix of images and disjointed editing, sounds and rhythms that are at times as powerful as any piece of filmmaking likely to be seen all year. It can also, every once in awhile, be tedious and trying.
100
Even Wong's detractors, who consider him more stylist than auteur, will have a tough time dismissing the extraordinary emotional depth he achieves here.
90
Los Angeles Times by Kevin Thomas
An exhilarating rush of a movie, with all manner of go-for-broke visual bravura that expresses perfectly the free spirits of his bold young people. [22 May 1998, Pg.F9]
90
Chicago Reader by Lisa Alspector
Writer-director Wong Kar-wai makes these five self-consciously idiosyncratic types--often seen through distorting lenses in cinematographer Christopher Doyle's somber, garish Hong Kong--fully and instantly believable.
75
Chicago Sun-Times by Roger Ebert
To describe the plot is to miss the point. Fallen Angels takes the materials of the plot -- the characters and what they do -- and assembles them like a photo montage. At the end, you have impressions, not conclusions.
78
Austin Chronicle by Russell Smith
If you're fed up with the stultifying, formula-driven character of today's mainstream films, give Fallen Angels a try. At the very least you'll be engaged, and if you're lucky you may just recapture some of your original wonder at the seductive power of movies.
60
The New York Times by Stephen Holden
Fallen Angels certainly abounds in visual pizazz, clever in jokes and trendy pop references, but such things can carry a movie only so far.
My favorite Wong Kar Wai film to date-- Fallen Angels doesn't simply follow a hero's journey, it paints a picture of Hong Kong with light, color, rhythm and nostalgic melodies. Through the characters, Wong Kar Wai tells the story of a city. While character developments and conflict resolutions can hardly be found in this film, the city of Hong Kong emerges in all its unforgettable vividness and allure.