-By JAMES BERARDINELLI

Suddenly, the "Hong Kong style" is in. Not only are director John Woo and actor Jackie Chan both releasing English-language films early in 1996 (Broken Arrow and Rumble in the Bronx, respectively), but the number of Hong Kong titles obtaining widespread American distribution is on the upswing. Two of those films, Wong Kar-wai's Chungking Express and Fallen Angels, are being released by Miramax under Quentin Tarantino's Rolling Thunder imprint. Depending on how they are received, this could open the floodgates, at least temporarily, since no one knows what will happen to the Hong Kong film industry next year when the country reverts to Chinese rule.

Those expecting Chungking Express to offer a "typical" Hong Kong film experience (kung fu) are in for a surprise. While much of the camerawork is kinetic, the film contains very little traditional action. This is basically a character-based motion picture fueled by thematic explorations instead of a fast-moving plot. Wong uses Chungking Express to examine the similarities and differences in the ways human beings communicate. READ MORE