[FIELDWORK] MY PRINCE EDWARD, GOLDEN PLAZA

MY PRINCE EDWARD, DIR. NORRIS WONG (1977)           

Golden Plaza, Prince Edward, Hong Kong

The appearance of the Golden Plaza. Scenes from the Golden Scene’s My Prince Edward, 2020, directed by Norris Wong. 

Golden Scene released My Prince Edward in Hong Kong on April 16, 2020.¹ In this film, Cheung Lei-Fong ‘Fong’ works in a wedding gown rental shop in Golden Plaza, and she is in an 8-year relationship with Edward Yan, who works as a wedding photographer in the same shopping mall. One day, Edward proposes to Fong, but Fong doesn’t know how to respond to this, as she entered fake marriage with Yang Shuwei ten years ago to earn money. This fake marriage was supposed to end a few years ago, but the agent responsible for this failed to apply for a divorce. While Fong is finding Yang to get divorced, she has to keep this from Edward, driving Fong crazy. Finally, Edward discovers her secret, and Fong is frustrated as to decide her future. Golden Plaza in Prince Edward is a critical element in this film, as this is the place where Fong and Edward met, but conflicts in their relationship also start there.

Golden Plaza is a wedding-themed shopping mall. There are hundreds of shops selling wedding supplies and accessories, renting wedding gowns, providing wedding photography services, and so on. In reality, it is a mall with many wedding-related shops. It is supposed to be crowded as many brides and grooms to be will visit this plaza when preparing for their wedding, and the environment is relatively bright and full of joy. On the contrary, the film shows the other side of the Golden Plaza. In the movie, the Golden Plaza is often presented when all the shops have closed, so the place is desolate, and the environment is relatively dim, and it creates a quite depressing atmosphere. Instead of focusing on the shops in the plaza, the film shows unnoticed places in some scenes. For example, Edward proposes to Fong in front of the elevator on the ground floor, and Fong meets with Yang in the closed basement of the plaza. These are places that most people will not pay attention to when they visit this plaza.

The ways how the Golden Plaza is presented in this film helps convey the emotion of the characters and the message of the film. Marriage is deemed blissful, and the Golden Plaza has many wedding-related shops, so the Golden Plaza represents the happiness of marriage to some extent. However, this film avoids showing the hustle and bustle and the prosperous side of the plaza, and there are not many scenes showing different shops in the plaza, so it is presented as a deserted place. Moreover, the plaza environment in the film is often rather dim, and the dim colour is related to negative emotion. This brings out that Fong is completely not excited about her wedding. She feels very distressed because of the fake marriage for one thing, and she is not ready to get married for another as she is confused about her relationship with Edward. The film expresses the Hong Kong people’s worries about marriage through the story of Fong.

— Chan Wai Ki 3035933957  

Fong tells her friend that she is not yet divorced in front of her shop in Golden Plaza after the shop is closed. Scenes from the Golden Scene’s My Prince Edward, 2020, directed by Norris Wong.

Fong meets with Yang in the basement of the Golden Plaza to discuss how to get divorced. Scenes from the Golden Scene’s My Prince Edward, 2020, directed by Norris Wong. 

Fong, Edward and his mother take the escalator down to the ground floor after Edward discovers Fong’s fake marriage with Yang. Scenes from the Golden Scene’s My Prince Edward, 2020, directed by Norris Wong.

Notes:

1 Produced by Golden Scene Company Limited at an estimated cost of HK$3.25 million, the film was directed by Norris Wong and starred Stephy Tang and Chu Pak-Hong. The Chinese title ‘金都’ and the English title ‘My Prince Edward’ of this film both imply the Golden Plaza in Prince Edward.