[FIELDWORK] Election, Old Yau Ma Tei Police Station

ELECTION,

 DIR. Johnnie To (2005)

Old Yau Ma Tei Police Station ，Yau Tsim Mong District，Hong Kong

Election(Literal translation of Chinese movie titles is underworld) is a Hong Kong underworld film released in 2005 directed by Johnnie To. The film tells the story of Hong Kong’s largest society “Wo Sing Society” holding the biennial boss election. ¹ Lok and Big D is the leader of the two major regions. Lok was elected as the boss. The angry Big D challenged the rules and wanted to compete with Lok for the Baton, a symbol of power. The Old Yau Ma Tei Police Station is the scene of a vital turn point of the film. ² It was built in an Edwardian architectural style with ornate designs to highlight the police force’s authority. It is a Grade II historical building with a history of nearly 99 years and one of the oldest police stations in Hong Kong. As a historical building, it can be said that it has experienced the Hong Kong underworld’s history. As a police station, it is a balance between legality and illegality. Two opposites collide here, and the concept of opposites runs through the entire movie a clue.

In the movie, two mortal enemies, Lok and Big D, meet at the Old Yau Ma Tei Police Station at night, and their gang members are all dressed in black surrounding them. Because the building is at the intersection, the two gangs represented by the two dead enemies are naturally separated by the intersection. The street lamps here are not bright in the movie; under the shroud of night, the tense atmosphere of a fight is cleverly created by the director. The tense mood of the audience and the audience’s expectation of the two rival battles were pushed to the climax at this moment. Today, this building no longer functions as a police station. It has become a tourist destination for Hong Kong film fans and tourists and a symbol of police and criminal films. Among the pictures I took was a picture of the building with its quiet beauty, set against bright street lamps and flowers, in contrast to the movie’s grueling atmosphere. In real life, as one of the most historic police stations, it gives citizens a sense of history and security.

Next, I will discuss how and why the old Yau Ma Tei Police Station was performed in the film. First, from an intuitive point of view, this building appears as a background in the dark and quiet night in the movie. The reason for this design is as follows: Such an old building with history itself gives a serious feeling, and under the inducement of light that is not bright, this serious feeling easily becomes a repressive feeling, which is conducive to the atmosphere of tension and the development of the plot. Second, in the movie, the underworld that represents the break of the law negotiated in front of the police station that represents the rule of law. The reason for the director’s arrangement is that the two parties themselves are a kind of strong opposition, which highlights the unique history of Hong Kong’s underworld, and implies that the opposing parties can coexist or even cooperate to some extent. This also contributes to the expression of one of the film’s central ideas to a certain extent. The central idea is that opposition and cooperation are not absolute and can be converted into each other under certain circumstances.

—Zhang Ziye (3035771397)

Notes:

1 Election is a horror, plot, and crime movie released in 2005. It was produced by China Star Entertainment Limited, Image holding group and One Hundred Years of Film Co. Ltd., directed by Johnnie To. Starring Ren Dahua, Leung Ka Fai, Louis Koo, Zhang Jiahui and Lin Xue. Investing 40 million Hong Kong dollars.

2 The Old Yau Ma Tei Police Station was changed to Yau Ma Tei Reporting Centre in 2016.