I chose the Lek Yuen Estate from Made in Hong Kong in 1997. Made in Hong Kong is directed by Fruit Chan in 1997. There are many figures in the film, including the protagonist Chung Chau whose nickname is Moon, and many others. They have all been through tragedies and had tough times in the movie. Although the film introduces the same old heroism kind of narrative, it has a rather realistic style, which gives accounts of living conditions, class differences, etcetera, allowing the audience to imagine what Hong Kong was like at the time of the Handover of Hong Kong.
Lek Yuen Estate is where Moon lives, and the place has shown throughout the entire film, especially his bedroom, where he always dreams about some of the essential figures. Although his place is small, he has many neighbors in the hallways, such an environment indirectly reflects Hong Kong citizens’ living conditions, where many poor have to live with one another at close distance, thus, symbolizing poverty. Such a living environment also allows gang members to wander around since the poor are easy to bully and threaten, which is another feature of the Lek Yuen Estate in the film. Overall, the place is presented as a poor living environment in the movie and also represents the lower class of Hong Kong people.
Lek Yuen Estate is actually the first public housing estate in Sha Tin. The estate has been repainted and rebuilt. Lek Yuen Estate is famous due the scenes in Made in Hong Kong.
To summarize the report, there are three reasons for the film to present Lek Yuen Estate in the way of being the protagonist’s living place. One of the reasons is to forge the character of the film figures, so we can better understand their motives of the figures. Another reason would be to showcase the living style of the residents who live in the public housing estates, which allows the audience to understand more about what it is like to live in those housing. The last reason would be to reflect on the poor living conditions of the lower class of Hong Kong people, thus, making a great contrast with those who live in better environments, which brightens the struggles of the poor from both the film and reality.
Student Name: Lam Ho Yin
UID:3036108391
Your podcast focuses on how the film reveals the living conditions of Hong Kong people in public housing and introducing Lek Yuen Estate generally. However, the arguments made are mostly superficial and scattered, which are unable to relate architecture and the narrative. More commitment to the assignment should be observed. Remember this is a ‘fieldwork’ so conducting a field trip is crucial.