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Fallen Angels AKA Duo Iuo Tian Shi
R0 - Australia - Accent Review written by and copyright: Noor_Razzak (31st October 2004). |
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The Film
 Prolific Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar-Wai first started making waves in the early 90’s with well crafted films that had an altogether European avant-guard feel to them, unlike the films of the time seen in Hong Kong’s early 90’s such as John Woo’s “The Killer” or “Hard Boiled” and Ringo Lam’s “Point of no Return” had created a staple of urban crime action films that dominated Hong Kong cinema for the most part of that decade, Kar-Wai was creating a different type of product. He chose to portray his characters in a dramatic light, where relationship development took precedence over mindless violence. In “Fallen Angels” we follow five key characters, a disillusioned hit man Wong Chi-Ming (Leon Lai), his forgotten ex-girlfriend with dyed blond hair (Karen Mok), his female partner (Michelle Reis), He Zhiwu an ex-convict who happens to be mute (Takeshi Kaneshiro), and Charlie a woman he meets on the streets (Charlie Yeung). These five characters are fallen angels, they are innocent lives that have sunk to new lows in their lives, largely by their own doing. However despite this they continue to seek happiness and fulfilment in life. The journey each character takes will lead them down both familiar and new paths, for Ming it’s one last hit, for his partner it’s her own self gratification at the thought of Ming, for his ex-girlfriend she seeks companionship, for He Zhiwu it’s to run his own business and Charlie needs a shoulder to cry on. Each performance is uniquely interesting, Lai’s portrayal of the hit man does not only come out as being cool, but also brutal, efficient but that also demonstrates a vulnerable side that is quite refreshing. Kaneshiro’s portrayal of the mute He Zhiwu is a joy to watch as he breaks into one business after another in order to fulfil his long time dream of being his own boss, his attempts to satisfy customers, only leads them away. His genuine comedian-like attributes come out in his character and add a loveable feel to him. Not to be outdone are the female cast who too hold their own, with Mok’s overbearing characterisation to Reis’ stunning turn as the in lust partner to Ming and finally Yeung’s turn as the dumped over the phone girl who finds solace in the shoulder’s of another. Kar-Wai not only had a clear vision for each character but with casting these phenomenal actors he was able to bring them to life with wonderful results. Kar-Wai shows us an urban slick of life, that was originally meant as the third chapter of “Chunking Express” but thankfully it was cut and adapted into this piece that studies the depths that humans will go to while searching for happiness in a dark, unforgiving, empty city. “Fallen Angels” is one of Hong Kong cinema’s finest achievements, Kar-Wai manages to weave us directly into these people’s lives, viewing this film is more an experience than entertainment. Additionally the choice to photograph the city at night, with the use of a wide-angle lens and green-yellow colour palate not only brings out the feeling of a lost city but also adds a lonely and isolated look to the overall image that heightens the emotion the characters are going through. I can easily recommend this film to all fine lovers of cinema, “Fallen Angels” is just stunning.
Video
This is the first time this film has been released in Australia and Accent has put together a product of excellent quality. Although the package states this disc is encoded R4 it is actually R0 encoded. Despite the package stating the film is presented in 1.66:1, it’s actually presented in the aspect ratio of 1.78:1, and this anamorphic transfer is just stunning considering it’s other counterparts from Honk Kong, Korea, etc. The image itself is generally quite sharp, colours are prominent and bold, especially the yellow and green hues chosen as part of the colour palate by director Wong Kar-Wai. Blacks are bold, but details are sometimes limited but generally the quality is decent. Shadow detail is also impressive considering the lack thereof on the HK release. The transfer does have prominent film grain throughout, this is more so in the back and white shots of the film but it is not distracting. Artefacts, scratches and minor print damage can be seen from time to time but again is very brief. The original ratio is actually 1.66:1, although this transfer is 1.78:1 I can’t actually tell if anything is cropped, if it is the case it shouldn’t matter, because the quality more than makes up for it. I can say with confidence that this is the best this film has looked on any digital home video format.
Audio
Presented in the film’s original dialogue this disc features a Cantonese Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono track. The dialogue is clear and distortion free. The music is not only prominent but is also rendered well. I could not detect any audio hiss, pops and other audio related issues that are also prominent on the HK disc. While I would have loved a 2.0 Surround track this soundtrack is more than adequate. The disc also features optional subtitles in English, I found the subtitles to be grammatically correct, and there are instances where the subtitles disappear rather quickly but aside from this the translation is excellent.
Extras
Accent has included a few extras, which include a restoration comparison, a trailer and some liner notes. On the main menu you can access both the comparison and the trailer by selecting “Trailers” they play one after the other. The restoration comparison is footage from the film played to music from the film, it swipes between the original print and the new print, considering the source print used the restorers did an amazing job removing thousands of instances of dirt, scratches, marks, sparkle and enhancing sharpness and brining out the colours in the print. This piece doesn’t have any dialogue or explanation of how it was achieve, which would have been nice. Next we have a theatrical trailer, also set to music and feature almost no dialogue from the film. Finally we have an in-depth essay entitled “Pathological Angels” by film critic and author Stephen Teo, the essay covers the origin of the film, the look, story and characters. Overall an excellent essay that covers just about every you need to know about the film.
Overall
I have honestly never seen this film look so good, despite some minor transfer issues this is the best version of the film to date. Complimented with an adequate soundtrack and some minor extras that include an excellent essay, It’s not hard to recommend this one.
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