CHUNGKING EXPRESS, DIR. WONG KA WAI (1994)
Central-Mid-Levels Escalator and Walkway System, Central District, Hong Kong
Chungking Express is a film released in 1994. Directed by Wong Ka Wai, this film is divided into two parts, each about a policeman dealing with a breakup against the backdrop of the bustling but often lonely concrete jungle that is the city. The first story follows policeman 233 (Takeshi Kaneshiro) and a female drug smuggler (Brigitte Lin) at Chungking Mansion in Tsim Sha Tsui. The second story, follows policeman 633 (Tony Leung) and a female staff (Faye Wong) at Midnight Express, a snack bar in the entertainment district of Central. In the second part, we could see that the 800 meters long Central-Mid-Levels Escalator and Walkway System is a place that appeared frequently in the movie. In this report, how the escalator is presented in the film and how it is seen and experienced in reality; and why was it presented in the ways in the film, are discussed.
In the film, the Central-Mid-Levels Escalator and Walkway System first appeared in the final scene of the first part of the film, where policeman 663, who at that time was only a stranger to the audience, was on duty at the escalator, and he saw policeman 233 angrily running up the empty escalator because of a broken relationship. In this scene, the lighting and colors of the escalator, along with the blurry picture, gave the scene a rather quiet, cold and pale feeling. In reality, however, the escalator is just an infrastructure where people use it to get to one place of another. The lighting and atmosphere is brighter. People travel quicky, without noticing other people, or even the escalator. In reality, the escalator is merely a tool for people to get to their destination.
In my opinion, the reason why the escalator is depicted as it is in the film is because the escalator is shown as a “place” in the film, and is something that does not only help people get to one place or another physically, but is a place which helped connecting people, witnessed the disassociation of people, and is a place filled with emotions and memories. In the film, the characters know each other and where they live, and it gives them more action in the film when interacting with other while on the escalator, such as squatting down to peek into flat. But in reality, the Central-Mid-Levels escalator is no different than any other escalator as a .
— Yung Woon Ting, 3035762293
- Bright atmosphere of the escalator in reality
Notes:
“Central–Mid-Levels escalator” Wikipedia. Accessed March 12, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central%E2%80%93Mid-Levels_escalator
Your piece has a clear structure. You made comparisons between the atmosphere of the escalator in the film and that in reality and explained them with the concepts of ‘place’. It is quite convincing, yet you might also add some discussion of ‘space’ to understand the site with both ideas. It is hoped that you have selected more instances where the escalator appeared in the film. You might as well use more photos to help depict the differences in atmosphere between that in the film and in reality.