[FIELDWORK] Echoes of the Rainbow, Wing Lee Street

Echoes of the Rainbow [Dir/Scr: Alex Law] (2010) In the search for a distinct post-colonial identity, Hong Kong-ers, imbued with nostalgia, turn to architectural phenomena that showcase the transient journeys of their city from a bygone era. Amongst the ever-changing high skyline, fleeting moments are littered throughout the city, anachronistic cracks that show Hong Kong’s rich past and journey from a fishing village to an urban idyll. A genre-based on this premise, “Nostalgia Cinema” has been prominent in the Hong Kong film scene since the 90s. A paradigmatic example is ‘Echoes of Rainbow,’ a winsome, elegiac tale of a family

Continue reading[FIELDWORK] Echoes of the Rainbow, Wing Lee Street

[FIELDWORK] CHUNGKING EXPRESS, CHUNGKING MANSIONS

CHUNGKING EXPRESS,  WONG KAR WAI (1994) Chungking Mansions, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong This is the building that Brigitte Lin entered at the beginning of the film. Built-in 1961. The film consists of two stories about two frustrated men and women, how to get rid of their past love and start a new life again. The film embodies the eternal themes that director Wong Kar-wai is concerned with loneliness and the alienation of people. The characters in his films are always trapped in the past, unable to see the future, and unable to grasp the present. This is also reflected

Continue reading[FIELDWORK] CHUNGKING EXPRESS, CHUNGKING MANSIONS

[FIELDWORK] MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE III, BANK OF CHINA TOWER/ XITANG

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE III, DIR. J. J. Abrams (2006)  The Shanghai Bank of China Tower/ Xitang, Shanghai Paramount Pictures released Mission: Impossible III in May 2006 in the United States. It is the third installment in the Mission: Impossible film franchise. The movies are based on an imagery organization called IMF (Impossible Mission Force), which sends its agent to save the world from villains. The protagonist is Ethan Hunt (played by Tom Cruise), one of the IMF agents. At the end of the previous movie, Hunt ‘has retired from the field work’ and became a coach of the new recruits. The

Continue reading[FIELDWORK] MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE III, BANK OF CHINA TOWER/ XITANG

[FIELDWORK] Godzilla vs Kong, Streets of Hong Kong Island

GODZILLA VS KONG, DIR. Adam Wingard (2021)            Streets of Hong Kong Island Godzilla vs Kong is a 2021 science fiction Kaiju film directed by Adam Wingard. The film discusses a rivalry between two ancient species of Kaijus, Godzilla and King Kong. As Kong, along with a team of scientists, undertake a journey to discover the Hollow Earth, which is speculated to be the ancestral home of Kong, Godzilla tracks Kong down numerous times throughout the course of the film, leading to a series of brutal confrontations. One of these settings that Godzilla confronts with Kong is

Continue reading[FIELDWORK] Godzilla vs Kong, Streets of Hong Kong Island

[FIELDWORK] Season of Good Rain, DuFu Thatched Cottage

SEASON OF GOOD RAIN, DIR. Hur Jin-ho(2010)          DuFu Thatched Cottage, Chengdu, China   Season of good rain is a film about the timing of love, celebrating the romantic love that’s reborn on the tail of youth. On the first day of his business trip to Chengdu, Park Dong-he met MAY, who was his university friend in the DuFu Thatched Cottage. But MAY didn’t remember him. The two slowly pick up the broken memory fragments and quickly warms up their relationship by spending time together in DuFu Thatched Cottage, where MAY was working. Finally, Donghe decided not

Continue reading[FIELDWORK] Season of Good Rain, DuFu Thatched Cottage

[FIELDWORK] I’M LIVIN’ IT, MCDONALD’S

I’m Livin’ It, DIR. Huang (2019)            McDonald’s Hong Kong The place where led the story which is a very commonly seen McDonald on street.   I’m livin’ it(2019) mainly tells the story of Bowen, a former financial talent, who meets all kinds of sleepers in a McDonald’s restaurant and supports each other to help get out of the trough of life. The film is led by Shen Zi who ran away from home. After the conflict in Jane’s song hall, it officially leads to the location of McDonald’s. There are all kinds of sleepers here at night. They know

Continue reading[FIELDWORK] I’M LIVIN’ IT, MCDONALD’S

[FIELDWORK] Under the Hawthorn Tree, Baili Desert and 809 Primary School

UNDER THE HAWTHORN TREE; Yimou Zhang,2010 Baili Desert and 809 Primary School Under the Hawthorn Tree was a movie by director Yimou Zhang and acted by Xiao Dou and Dongyu Zhou, it was an adaptation of the novel of the same name, the story during the “Great Cultural Revolution” and the movie showed how Jingqiu and Laosan get to know each other, fall in love and finally end with LaoSan’s death, which is a Poignant love story. The sites used in this movie are located at my hometown, Yilin District Township Baili Desert Scenic Area of Yichang City (where hawthorn

Continue reading[FIELDWORK] Under the Hawthorn Tree, Baili Desert and 809 Primary School

[FIELDWORK] ZERO TO HERO, SHEUNG YUE RIVER BIG WATER-PIPES

Zero to Hero, DIR. Wan Chi Man Jimmy (2021)       Sheung Yue River Big Water-pipes, Sheung Shui, Hong Kong Mom So comes to find her son to talk causally on the stairs. Scenes from the Edko Film Ltd.’s Zero to Hero 2021, directed by Wan Chi Wan Jimmy. Zero to Hero (August, 2021) by Wan Chi Man Jimmy was released in Hong Kong. The setting of this film is in Hong Kong and Sheung Yue River Big Water-pipes are one of them. This is a mise-en-scene of Mom So (main female character) witnessing a miracle that So Wa Wai (main

Continue reading[FIELDWORK] ZERO TO HERO, SHEUNG YUE RIVER BIG WATER-PIPES

[FIELDWORK] PACIFIC RIM, KOWLOON BAY

Pacific Rim, Guillermo del Toro, 2013 Pacific Rim was released by Warner Bros in 2013.Hong Kong is set as a background for the final combat scene between the protagonist, Warriors and antagonist, Kaiju which appears in the later stage of the film. The scene transitions to the cityscape of Hong Kong showing the transporting of Warriors into the lake of Kowloon Bay. The iconic night cityscape of Hong Kong can be seen in the background such as the tower for Bank Of China, the ICC tower and IFC, capturing the notable and iconic nightscape of Hong Kong. The sense of

Continue reading[FIELDWORK] PACIFIC RIM, KOWLOON BAY

[FIELDWORK] INFERNAL AFFAIRS, GUANGDONG INVESTMENT TOWER

Infernal Affairs, DIR. ANDREW LAU AND ALAN MAK(2002)      Guangdong Investment Tower, Central and Western District, Hong Kong It is a story about Lau and Yan, who are both a mole, but on two opposing sides– the police and the gangster. The movie at the beginning gave the two characters a close up shot, representing that their faith is completely different. It is an exciting story between the searching and fighting against the two, and their “boss” behind Hon Sam and Wong Sir. There is a significant place which appears frequently in the movie. The “Guangdong Investment Tower” is

Continue reading[FIELDWORK] INFERNAL AFFAIRS, GUANGDONG INVESTMENT TOWER