[Field Report] Police Story

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IDkcyW52655eKbKavbW5779qhId0Jr5I/view?usp=sharing

The movie titled “Police Story,” which was released in 1985 is a Hong Kong action comedy crime film created by and starring Jackie Chan. It is known for its highly dangerous but one of the best stunts. 

What is interesting is that this film was not written the way normal Hollywood screenwriters work. Instead of relying on the creativity of the screenwriters to create the plot elements of a film, this film: the police story, was structured around a list of props and locations, such as a shopping mall,  village,  bus, and more. Through this, the film was able to create a strong connection between the space utilized in the film and the plot of the film. A few of the spaces that served as plot devices include the double-decker bus and shopping mall, which appear at the start and at the end of the film.

In an opening sequence featuring a car chase through a shanty town, Chan dangerously dangles from a speeding double-decker bus before stopping it with his service revolver. In this scene, a double-decker bus is the main space where the main characters of the movie interact. Through using such space at the start of the film, the writer successfully sets the setting of the scene to Hong Kong since Hong Kong is famous for its double-decker buses as one of its public transportation methods. Aside from giving the idea of where the opening sequence will take place, it also partakes in emphasizing the contrasting use of the double-decker bus from its conventional use and perceived function. Conventionally, double-decker buses are to provide a comfortable, air-conditioned space with seats. However, in the film, it is depicted as a space that creates a mood of urgency and uncomfortableness as Chan dangles from a speeding double-decker bus rather than sitting down inside the comfortable space. Therefore, by focusing on the exterior of the double-decker bus and its surroundings, it was able to create a different ambiance from relaxing to urgent. 

Later on in the film, Following the subpoena served to salina, ka kui (the protagonist character played by Jackie chan) is seen to be alongside salina as her protection while she is wandering around the city. The chosen shot (26:59) very briefly shows a bridge or walkway that connects two buildings and is presumably spanning over a road or main street. In this shot the characters appear tiny in comparison to the surrounding buildings and their almost silhouette-like outline exposed by the bright and dark parts of the bridge emphasizes this idea. This creates a visual illusion for the audience as it alludes to the vastness of the city or corporate buildings which can be explained as somewhat ironic as it goes against the general view of Hong Kong is a place of compactness and density. This point is further proven in both this shot and the following few shots as there is rarely anyone in the background that represents the general public. Perhaps this was done purposefully in order to achieve a cinematic quality that represents being stranded or alone which somewhat relates this portion of the story as salina is essentially alone and wants to remain that way. This is once again somewhat ironic given that our knowledge of hong kong consists of the idea that it is a hustling and bustling city, instead this short sequence of shots show otherwise.

In this next scene, the protagonist, Ka Kui is seen approaching a villa in the rosary village where Salina is being held captive. The following sequence of shots start off with the camera panning to keep Ka kui in focus as he gets out of the taxi and arrives at the front gate of the villa. This serves as a great contrast in terms of the settings as earlier on in the film, the storyline takes us through a brief demonstration of the housing estates which are often compact and dense. Ku kai’s entrance is made up of mostly close up and quick cut shots to ensure that the audience stays engaged for the upcoming action. As he is about to retrieve Salina, the house and its surroundings are seen to be quite luxurious as is hinted subtly by showing a small glimpse of the seemingly front yard and later on in the sequence a swimming pool. It can be easily assumed that this house or so called villa is a sign of a luxurious and lavish lifestyle especially when compared to the ‘regular’ housing of Hong Kong. In this still (1:14:11) as ka kui unties salina from the chair, the full wall window design reveals an amazing view for the residents of the house as it spans from showing the blue ocean, seen in a previous shot, alongside the beautiful natural landscape consisting of the aforementioned housing estates in the distance. The lighting in this shot clearly emphasizes the landscape and the view because the interior of the villa is somewhat dark leaving it out of the audience’s attention. The villa serves as an example of the massive diversity in Hong Kong as the movie transitions from showing shanty dwellings to slightly lavish apartments and finally luxurious villas.

The next chosen scene is also a great representation of both diversity and vastness being portrayed in the movie. All the main characters are now present in court in a room which is shown to be normal, nothing too exaggerated, however the wide shot following the end of the court hearing really puts everything into perspective. As the characters head out of the supreme court building, their respective cars (some fancier than others) approach the scene and within this very short wide shot consists of a beautiful almost mesmerizing image. In this still (59:07) the composition of the shot almost suggests an idea of an utopian world. The supreme court building is very geometric and angular and its bland gray color gives it a very neutral essence which I guess alludes to the idea of law and justice. However, the building next to it is a unique bronze shade which I guess differentiates both the purpose and interpretation of the building.The water fountains in the foreground provide a quality of balance as it serves as an aesthetic luxury and seemingly a roundabout. All of these aspects create an image of a perfectly formulated world, perhaps utopia. This point can be taken further by looking at the background and landscape of this shot. The mountainous range in the background can sort of act like a border or wall within which this utopian world exists. This is because the building scenes in the background also look somewhat utopian due to its generic gray square buildings. This idea of utopia is mostly derived from looking at the transition of the various settings, especially its physical and aesthetic quality. 

The last scene takes place in the shopping mall. Utilizing 700 pounds of panes of sugar glass and computer graphics to create the climactic fight scene in a shopping mall, the combination of manpower and today’s technology provides more than just the ability to destroy the up-and-running shopping mall but rather, by studying the architectural significance of the structure of the shopping mall, we can see its role in enhancing narrative possibilities and helping to create atmospheres that can transport us into other worlds. The original purpose of a shopping mall is to provide fashion, leisure, entertainment, and food ambiance, but suddenly, the composition of the space, such as the alleys and escalators, become props for dynamic action scenes. Though the shopping mall looks spacious from the outside of the building with its large scale, the narrow aspect of the alleys adds to the bustling and cramped feature of the insides of the shopping mall with numerous stores. Moreover, the escalators aid the audience in gaining spatial awareness by clarifying multiple stories in the shopping mall and therefore keep the audience track of which part or story of the building the scene is taking place. 

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