GOD OF GAMBLERS, DIR. WONG JING (1989)
Prince Edward, Nathan Rd, Hong Kong
“God of gamblers” is a film famous in Hong Kong and overseas. The god of gamblers(Ko Chun, Chow Yun Fat) has been imitated by many films related to gamblers up to now. In this film, Ko Chun’s head was hurt accidentally. He lost his memory and became like a kid. “Little Knife”(Andy Lau Fat) takes amnesiac Ko Chun to his home and generally discover his virtuosity at gambling. Then Ko Chun was taken everywhere to gamble with Little Knife. In a scene from this film, Ko Chun was childish and lost a large number of Money owned by Chan at the casino on purpose. Little Knife was so angry that he tried to get rid of Ko Chun. Ko Chun was abandoned under an overpass by Chan and does not know where to go back. Ko Chun was very depressed and looked like a beggar in the street. Fortunately, Little Knife’s conscience smote him and went back.
Figure 1 Little Knife and Ko Chun stand under the overpass at exit B1 of the Prince Edward Subway Station
By comparing the film with the reality, I found that the film deliberately played down the surrounding environment, and the light was slightly weak. However, the constant flow of streets in the background of the film is not diminished by the visual dilution of the film. Compared to the real world, the intersection near the Prince subway station in the movie seems even more crowded, and the shops in the surrounding houses are open as usual, just like a normal busy crossing.
In addition, we can also find out the director’s meticulous treatment of the environment in the subtle way. Compared with other figures, there are few people in figure 2. Behind Micheal Chan was a clear wall, while there was a hazy vista of the street at the back of Ko Chun. Such photography can gradually open the distance between two people in space, which enhances the feeling of separating. In the picture 3, the busy street is bustling with people, but there is no one around the protagonist who was sitting under the overpass, which is extremely unreasonable in reality. It can be seen that the director used pedestrians and surrounding buildings in this short video to highlight the loneliness of Ko Chan after he was abandoned. When Little Knife turned back to find Ko Chan(Figure 4), he was surrounded by crowd on a narrow stretch of road. The numbers of extras in this cramped space adds to the tension.
From my perspective, the director chose their separating place at this busy intersection in order to the prosperous street background with Hong Kong characteristics, and he also used the adjustment of light to show the character’s mood.
Figure 2 Little Knife get rid of Ko Chun
Figure 3 Ko Chun crouched alone by the side of the road after being abandoned
Figure 4 Little Knife turned back in search of Ko Chun
Figure 5 Little Knife was finally reunited with Ko Chun
— Zhang Linzhuo 3035777511
Appreciate your observation on how the set is somewhat staged to match the scene’s / character’s mood in the film. One of the ways to build up your argument is by using photos. Comparing the scene from the film and the real scene (a little bit like you did in Figure 1) would help you to deliver the message to most readers. It would also be constructive to see how space is perceived and utilised in the film. You can also analyse how space is being utilised, especially to deliver a narrative in the film. For example, you mentioned how the busy and bustling street was utilised to emphasize Ko Chun’s abandonment. Would you think space can be read the same way in real life? If so (or not so), elaborating on the reasons could help your readers to follow your arguments as well. Also, you can strengthen your points by making references to ideas or concepts we have discussed in the class, for example, De Certeau’s representation(s) of space we discussed in L4 and L5. Lastly, remember to put a proper reference to your writing. All cited text and images which are not yours must be referred correctly to the original sources.