AllMovie

Swathed in neon and attitude, Wong Kar-wai's Fallen Angels is arguably the apotheosis of the Hong Kong auteur's hyper-kinetic, pop-informed style. Picking up on the stylistic flourishes and thematic preoccupations of Wong's previous feature, Chungking Express, this nocturnal movie follows a handful of restless, lonesome strangers in millennial Hong Kong. The movie, shot mainly in wide angle by long-time Wong collaborator Christopher Doyle, is a lush reverie: Wong's characters drift through the movie in various states of ruminative alienation and ennui. Despite this obsession with urban anomie, Wong's penchant for loopy coincidences and distracted doodling keeps things bittersweet rather than depressing. Dripping in romantic excess, the movie offers a fractured, wistful snapshot of fleeting youth, with MTV pyrotechnics, stylish languor, and slapdash absurdity all rolled into one cool and cohesive package. As in Wong's other features, mood and atmosphere are everything. From the smear of lights on busy city streets to the glamorously stoical disaffection of its characters, Fallen Angels never fails to be anything less than gorgeous and hip. For all its attitude, this elegiac film never lapses into winking irony, a tribute to Wong's singular capacity for romantic expression.