[FIELDWORK] MADE IN HONG KONG, WO HOP SHEK CEMETERY

MADE IN HONG KONG, DIR. FRUIT CHAN (1997)        Wo Hop Shek Cemetery, North District, Hong Kong Made in Hong Kong, premiered in 1997, is an independent film written and directed by Fruit Chan. It narrates the story of a group of marginalized and disadvantaged young people in Hong Kong society — low-rent triad Autumn Moon, his retarded friend Sylvester, and his lover Ping, a patient with fatal kidney disease. Although they struggle to live, they are all driven to death in the end. With the film closely related to death, the Wo Hop Shek Cemetery1 is a critical

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[FIELDWORK] THE WAY WE ARE, Tin Shui Wai

THE WAY WE ARE, DIR. Ann Hui (2008)            Tin Shui Wai, Yuen Long District, Hong Kong   The Way We Are, directed by Ann Hui, introduced the daily life of the grass-root family Cheung as a secondary student living with his mother Guai in a public housing estate in Tin Shui Wai. Guai as a widow, worked in the supermarket while Cheung was waiting for the results of the exam. Their lives seem simple, but it is very fulfilling. An older woman, Leung, had just moved to Tin Shui Wai for a while and working in

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[Field Report] PARASITE

PARASITE, DIR. BONG JOON-HO (2019) Semi-basement, classic residential building style in Korea Parasite is a movie directed by Bong Joon-ho. This movie tells the story of what happened between Kim Ki-taek’s family and Park’s family. Due to the failure of business and unemployment, Kim Ki-taek’s family has to live in a basement with low rent. In contrast, the Park family is very wealthy. As the Park daughter’s original tutor, a close friend of the Kim son, needs to study abroad, the Kim son got the opportunity to be the tutor of the Park daughter, and the four members of the

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[FIELDWORK] FALLEN ANGELS, YUE MAN SQUARE

FALLEN ANGELS, DIR. WONG KAR WAI (1995)           Yue Man Square, Kwun Tong, Hong Kong Fallen Angels (1995) is a film which encompasses crime, romance and comedy. Two almost unrelated romantic storylines interlace with each other in the same locations. The first story commences with a female who is the agent of the killer (main character), cleaning a dingy and messy room. Obsessed with the killer, she fantasizes with his objects and the place he often goes. Events in the first story take place in Yue Man Square and the places nearby Kwun Tong, including the symbolic

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[FIELDWORK] GHOST IN THE SHELL, Streets of Kowloon

[FIELDWORK] GHOST IN THE SHELL Mamoru Oshii 1995 Streets of Kowloon, Hong Kong Mamoru Oshii portrays a futuristic city in the 1995 action cyberpunk film – Ghost in the Shell: merging elements of 1990s Hong Kong and Japan. In 2029, technology advanced to a point that allows for cybernetic enhancement and augmentation. The titular character – Major Motoko Kusanagi is a cyborg employed by the security department Section 9. Kusanagi explores her existential reality of being a cyborg and contemplates on how she transcended her own humanity. Section 9 is portrayed amongst multiple high-rise buildings and skyscrapers inspired by Tokyo

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[FIELDWORK] LIMBO, MEI KING MANSION

Limbo, DIR. CHEANG POU SOI (2021)            Mei King Mansion, To Kwa Wan District, Hong Kong Cham Lau finds and saves Wong To, who is running away from gang members and drug dealers, in Mei King Mansion. Scenes from Sun Entertainment Culture’s Limbo 2021, directed by Cheang Pou-soi.. Sun Entertainment Culture released Limbo in November 2021.  The film is a noir horror thriller set in a fictional country that has a large resemblance with Hong Kong.  Most scenes are shot in Kwun Tong and To Kwa Wan.  The first act of the movie takes place a black-and-white Aberdeen,

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[FIELDWORK] THE RED DUST, A TRADITIONAL APARTMRNT IN CHANGCHUN

THE RED DUST, DIR. YIM HO (1990) A Traditional Apartment, Changchun The most iconic scene on the balcony Apartment: conflict generator between private space and public space At a mere mention of romance movie, commonly, the first impression upon the plot is its core structure – a narration centred at a couple, a trinity or a more complex relationship, accompanied by extensions and developments to broader scenarios. Multiple devices would be employed to improve the tension of the film. This article would focus on the contributions of the locale in romantic movie. Discussions would base on the Red Dust directed

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[FIELDWORK] I’m Livin’ It, the McDonald’s

I’m Livin’ It, DIR. Danny Wong (2019)            McDonald’s, Yaumatei (supposed, as it is artificially constructed with reference to several real McDonald shops), Hong Kong  Figure 1. McDonald’s is the only working shop with bright light and neon board in the streets. Scenes from I’m Livin’ it 2019, directed by Danny Wong. I’m Livin’ It (2019), named after McDonald’s advertising slogan “I’m Lovin’ It,” is a Hong Kong drama film directed by Danny Wong. Focused on a special group of lower-class vagrants, “McRefugees,” namely Bowen, Sam, and Uncle Wait alike, who stay overnight in the McDonald’s,

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[FIELDWORK] MY PRINCE EDWARD, GOLDEN PLAZA

MY PRINCE EDWARD, NORRIS WONG (2019) Golden Plaza, Price Edward, Hong Kong My Prince Edward is a Hong Kong love story. Fong works in a bridal gown shop in Golden Place. She has a boyfriend who also works in Golden Plaza. Golden Plaza is a ‘wedding mall’. It is in Prince Edward. It has many wedding-related shops which offer products and services at cheap prices.   10 years ago, Fong has a sham marriage with Yang Shuwei, who is a mainlander. However, they are not divorced because their agent was arrested and so they lost contact since then. As Fong

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[Field Report] MAD WORLD, STAIRS INSIDE TONG LAU

MAD WORLD, DIR. WONG CHUN (2016) Stairs Inside Tong Lau, Cheung Sha Wan, Hong Kong Dong’s father is climbing up the stairs and that hurts his back. Scene from Mad World, 2016, directed by Wong Chun. Released in September 2016, Mad World reveals the actual living condition of those underprivileged in Hong Kong and shows the lack of support for them, including the patients with emotional illnesses and low-income groups. The storyline focuses on the life of a bipolar victim, Dong, who has chosen to live with his father in a subdivided flat in a traditional Tong Lau after being

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