[Fieldwork Podcast]: Fallen Angels (1995)

Script

L: Hi, welcome to cinematic podcasts. We are your fantastic hosts.
E: My name is Eda and I’m a first year Social Sciences student.
L: And I am Lorenzo, a year one bachelor of sciences student. So what are we doing today Eda?
E: Well Lorenzo, today we will be talking about “Fallen Angels”, a 1995 movie directed by the celebrated Wong Kar Wai.
L: For those of you who were not paying attention in lectures, Wong Kar Wai is a well known Hong Kong director, known for his cinematographic style comprising disjointed nonlinear and fragmented narratives, vivid scenography, contrasting color scheme, and use of music. Some of his more iconic movies such as “In the mood for love”, “Happy Together” or also “Chungking Express” which is actually an informal prequel to “Fallen Angels”.
E: Before we get into the fun stuff, let me just give you a quick summary of the movie. “Fallen Angels” follows the lives of three individuals (a hit man, who wants to quit his ways of a killer, his mysterious and obsessive female boss who he has never met before, and a mute ex-convict who makes a living out of sneaking into people’s homes and running their businesses after closing hours). Although these characters lead their lives in solitude, their professional and love lives collide with each other as the movie progresses, mostly without their knowledge. Now, Lorenzo, do you know why Wong Kar Wai named this movie “Fallen Angels”?
L: You caught me off guard there Eda. Please do enlighten me!
E: Well, I believe that the characters within the movie can all be seen as “angels”. They live in a world of delusions (delusions which revolve around their idealized romantic lives or future aspirations). Whether they are aware of the fact that they are deceiving themselves is up to debate, however what is certain is that towards the end of the movie, all of their lives start to crumble to pieces. They get rejected by their lovers, lose their family members (and some even their lives), get into trouble, etc. Hence, the use of the “fallen angel” allegory for the title. Nevertheless, towards the end of the movie, not all hope is lost as we are introduced to a new prospect of love between two of the characters.
L: Wow Eda, that is quite intriguing! Now let’s move onto the stills shall we? The architectural element we decided to discuss is the Cross-Harbour Tunnel; more specifically we selected the scenes where Ho Chi Mo (played by Takeshi Kaneshiro) rides his motorcycle through the tunnel.
E: The Cross-Harbour Tunnel is a 1.9km tunnel connecting Hung Hom and Causeway Bay. It was built in 1972, when Hong Kong was still under colonial rule. It was constructed under a “Build, Operate and Transfer” contract to promote a dual two-lane carriageway toll and at the same time meet the needs of the ever-growing traffic of a rapidly modernizing city. In 1999, it was passed under local government management. Due to its historical and functional significance, the tunnel may be seen as a symbol of modernization and a representation of public mobility infrastructure within the movie. Systems of transportation are key elements in human daily lives as they allow humans and goods to move physically from one place to another. This circulation of people in the global age has an effect on individuals’ inner-spirit and deepens intrapersonal relationships, as can be observed from the scenes with Ho Chi Mo, the ex-convict.
Within the movie, there are four scenes which depict this tunnel and they are all associated with Ho Chi Mo. In the first scene, which serves as a backstory for the character, we see Chi Mo speed down the tunnel on his motorcycle. In the other two tunnel scenes, he is accompanied by a girl named Charlie, who turns out to be his first love and first heartbreak. He brings her to her ex-boyfriend’s new girl’s (Blondie) house to take revenge in the first instance, and in the second he takes her out on a date in the Hong Kong Stadium, which she agrees to thinking that her ex-boyfriend would be present. He does not go back to the tunnel until he encounters the hitman’s agent in a local restaurant. Although they had known each other since the beginning of the movie (they both lived in Chungking Mansions), this is the first time they are alone together. The movie ends with them exiting the tunnel (it is the first time whe see what is beyond the cylindrical and confining walls). This scene is actually quite particular as the whole movie is exclusively filmed in the nighttime and this is the first time we actually see what is beyond the darkness, as a new day is born, bringing opportunities and promises. The color palette throughout these clips is mostly made up of cooler tones, which highlights the main themes of isolation, heartbreak, and delusion. The shots, like in most of the scenes, are close-ups and wide angles. This creates a distorted view of the characters (which represents the unreachable desires and disenchantment of the protagonists) and makes the audience feel “up close and personal” with the plot.
L: Other than being a literal connection of two spaces, the tunnel serves as an intermission, or more appropriately a psychological transition for different moments within the character’s life’s timeline. In the opening scene of Ho Chi Mo’s story we see him riding his bicycle through the tunnel. This can show a lot about how Chi Mo spends his life; it represents how, logistically and architecturally speaking, there is not a defining space for Chi Mo. He makes his living from shops across the city which is where his life and story takes shape and evolves. The tunnel, as an architectural feature, perfectly exemplifies this idea that his life is a constant metamorphosis between spaces, roles and personalities. For instance when we see Ho take Charlie to the stadium, or when he is taking her to Blondie’s house, the tunnel is a transition to show how the characters, their emotional state and the plotline is evolving. Especially with regards to Chi Mo we see how (before going to the stadium) he is euphoric about Charlie and interprets their going out as a date. Once there, however, he soon realizes that Charlie is not interested in him and is faced with the harsh reality; the tunnel here is a catalyst, a facilitator between two different emotional and physical spaces for the characters. In the closing scene we then see Chi Mo again riding his bike out the tunnel and into the city with a new possible love interest (the hitman’s agent), which can be interpreted as an allegory for him leaving behind his emotional loss to finally begin a new chapter of his life. He is leaving the tunnel and his old life behind, exiting the limbo, leaving behind what was nothing more than a transitional state to finally begin living.
E: Lorenzo, anything to add before we have to wrap this podcast up?
L: Yes Eda, I just wanted to briefly share something I pondered upon. See, the tunnel is a piece of public infrastructure. It is something mundane with which the audience is familiar with and which the audience passed through or benefitted from. I believe this has some significance with regards to how Ho Chi Mo’s story, his hardships, emotions, and difficulties are situations to which we are all subject to. Maybe we are not necessarily familiar with on a personal basis, but they are things which we could possibly all experience, and many of the circumstances in the movie are events which we could all encounter.
E: Well, now it really looks like we have run out of time, haven’t we?
L: Yes, Eda. It has been fun. Thank you all for listening to our podcast! Have a great day everyone!

References

• http://scottwilsonscotlandhistory.co.uk/Appendix%201%20Mainly%20Projects/SW%20History%20Doc%2013%20Appx%201%20HK%20Cross-Harbour%20Tunnel%20Opening%201972.pdf
• https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0939182/bio

Lorenzo Pacchiarotti 3035986605

Zeynep Eda Altıntop 3036095245