Greetings to everyone. This report will be about the movie Young and Dangerous. We’ve all dreamed of being a gangster, haven’t we? No matter it is from watching related movies, or films or just knowing them in daily life. I must admit, watching the thrilling scenes of the gangsters in movies does give me goosebumps. Young and Dangerous, as introduced later, is one of the movies you will be looking for when it comes to audacious, ferocious crime excitement. Furthermore, this movie manifested Hong Kong’s architecture which I will introduce later is what makes this movie a classic of the criminal genre.
Before I introduce those specific scenes, we got to have a glimpse of the story this movie is about. Young and Gangster, in Cantonese ‘Gu Wak Chai’, is a movie directed by Andrew Lau in 1996. It is about the story of a youngster ‘Chan Ho Lam’(Ekin Cheng) on becoming the leader of the Triad ‘Hung Hing’ by overcoming obstacles and rivalries such as his nemesis Leng Kwun, and his loyal friend ‘Shan Kai’(Jordan Chan) s betrayal. Apart from the doom-and-glooms where violence, betrayal, and greed were richly depicted, it is worth notable the development of characters comprising redemption, friendship, and loyalty that adds to the complexity of the movie.
How exactly does a crime movie display Hong Kong’s architecture and urban space? The movie begins with the scene of a bunch of teens playing football on a field surrounded by estate housing, revealing the general structure of public housing in Hong Kong and introducing the living environment of Chan’s early life. The scene also showed a crowd of people, giving us hindsight of Hong Kong’s housing problems that have long remained even today, alongside its unreasonably high price. Compared to Hong Kong’s prosperous side where skyscrapers and fancy buildings are located, the display of the public estate showed a contrast. In addition, the scene was tan and yellowish that constitute a vintage vibe, highlighting these to be in memory. In real life, most desperados started their gangster careers in estate housing.
Time lapsed to 1995 in the movie when Chan and his friends were strutting in the middle of Causeway Bay at night. Personally, this scene also showed contrast showing the change in Chan’s nowadays life before and after working for the Triads. From the perspective of a wandering citizen, it gives an even more detailed look at the night view in one of the hectic, vivid areas in Hong Kong. In real life, the city truly is viewed similarly to the angle of this scene. Compared to some angles of shotting cities from the sky in nowadays movies, the one used in this movie is more preferable as being more realistic. As the story continues, Chan met his girlfriend ‘Sai Sai Lup’, who carjacked Chan’s racecar earlier on and gets bamboozled by Chan and his friends. The scene where they trick her was closely filmed to make closer contact with their conversation as if listening to them in person. In the reality, not only Causeway Bay but most places in Hong Kong are full of crowded people talking by the streets.
After that, Chan was assigned to handle some casino businesses in Macau for the Triads with his friends. However, they were busted by Leng Kwun. One of Chan’s fellow friends: Chow Pei died during the fierce battle. Most of the scenes are in slower motion, like moving frame-by-frame. It is to emphasize the importance of this fight scene as it is the catalyst of the conflict between Chan and his homie Shan Kai. It is also to make the scene more intense so the audience can focus only on their life-or-death battle on the bridge. The scene where Chan and Shan Kai argue was filmed in a dark alley. This most likely represents the desperate, pessimistic, and helpless state of the gangs. Later, when chairman Cheung gets expelled from the Triads, the scene was taken in a room full of Chinese furniture and drawing, usually a deity figure of a famous Chinese hero ‘Kwun Yu’. This depicts the headquarter of the underground as reflected in real life and its intensity to be with this many gangsters.
Notice this sheepish policeman who now gets insulted by Leng Kun? Remember him! After killing Chan’s boss dailo B, Leng Kwun and his followers were celebrating Kwun’s mother’s birthday at a typical Chinese Restaurant named Yuet heung Restaurant which was closed already. The ambiance was warm and buzzy showed with the lighting being relatively sharper, whilst on the other hand, Chan and his friends were vandalizing one of Kwun’s business place. The lighting shown there was relatively darker in which represents the arrival of Chan’s vengeance and ghostly environment. However, the lighting of these places is always coruscating in the interior and exterior to make the area more vivid. These lighting problems even lead to light pollution. Near the end, when Chan and his friends hunt Kwun to the alley they set up earlier, it was shown to be narrow, dark, both sides surrounded by buildings which creates the inescapable vibe. The only lighting was from the fire Chan set up on a basket. Those alleys might be frightening at night, but it was exaggerated in the movie. It is in fact, a much wider, illuminated path that connects two roads. Occasionally, you’ll see people smoking in these areas. Kwun was at last, ironically shot to death by the officer he teased earlier on. One scene caught my attention was that the camera pointed at a sleeping old man who was just beside the gang fight. The old man was shown unflappably sleeping whereas Kwun also ‘sleeping’, but he will never wake up… This surprisingly creates a contrast of life and death.
This story was in before the return of Hong Kong to China. Hong Kong has already leapfrogged to an even flourished city with lower crime rate and booming economy. The story of Chan Ho Lam, also known as the boss of Causeway Bay, has become a fantasy of some of Hong Konger’s obsession towards crime stories. Causeway Bay, as one of Hong Kong’s vibrant areas, have most of its architecture replaced by high-end shopping malls, boutiques and upgraded stores. Most of the scenes in Young and Dangerous are filmed in Causeway Bay as Chan being its caretaker. The change in Causeway Bay, especially its architecture, as way as most places in Hong Kong has been thriving. Those Ku Wak Chai will always be the gangsters we Hong Kongers first think of.
NG Hok Yiu BRYAN 3036106032
Your writing is beautifully-written, including analysis on the camera language and the storyline. However, you have not explained enough on how the urban setting or the spaces in the film, e.g. Causeway Bay, have supported the narrative of the gangsters. There is insufficient mention on the spatial level. While you are highlighting a lot in the film plots, note that this fieldwork report is not just a film review. You should visit your site to conduct field trip and fieldwork report.
Also note that this is meant to be a pair-work podcast but not an individual written report, you need to pay attention to the requirements of the assignment.