A Moment of Romance, Chen Musheng (1990)
St. Margaret‘s Church,Hong Kong Island,Hong Kong
The film is about a love story between a young gangster and a rich young lady, Jojo. Two people get to know each other accidentally because of a robbery and kidnapping case, two people gradually fall in love with each other later, but Hua Tsai has his friendship fetters in the underworld, jojo also has a better life that belongs to him. The two eloped on the night of their departure, confirming their love for each other, but unfortunately Howie chose to avenge his death, leaving Jojo alone.
The final climax of the film, where the hero and heroine finally parted, is St. Margaret’s Church in Hong Kong. It is a Catholic church in Hong Kong, and the first church in the East to use the name of St.Margaret Mary Alacoque. It was approved as a Grade I historic building in 2010.
In reality, people can see the lobby is simple and dignified, very quiet and elegant, there are long stairs in front of the door, so that people can look up at the church, the front of the church is a rose window, the porch is supported by four Doric columns, and two holy ICONS on both sides of the door. Enter the cathedral and the interior is ornate but still sacred, with a circular vaulted ceiling supported by columns that combine classical and Goethe forms in 18th century France. The plan takes the form of a Roman synagogue, ending in a semicircular sanctuary.
However, in the film, the shooting time is chosen at night, the overall light is dim, and the shooting Angle is symmetrical from bottom to top. The original two-dimensional building is presented to the audience in a dynamic way. In the movie, the interior of the church is not presented, and the visual experience of the audience is limited to the symmetrical structure of the facade of the church, which gives people a feeling of tranquility and desolation combined with the current night atmosphere. In the climax, the hero and heroine are at the center of the lower steps of the church, flanked by two symmetrical ICONS. The camera finally landed on the ground below the steps and looked up at the whole facade of the church from bottom to top, from far to near, from near to far, giving the audience space to think and imagine.
There are two advantages to presenting the building in this way. The first point, shooting time is night, so can better apply colours to a drawing atmosphere, suggests that the lovers are facing life and death farewell, also hinted at their tragic love, let the audience to better understand and feel the emotions expressed by the current stories, let the audience can better into this by the church, at night, wedding dress, lover of space. Second, the shooting Angle from bottom to top is dynamic, enriching the single architectural element and giving the audience a sense of space. The landscape presented by the whole shooting is symmetrical, which also shows the modesty of the church. When shooting the story of the characters happening on the steps, the steps have a natural sense of structure and layering, which makes the climax of the current movie story more exciting and empathising with the audience.
LIU Haitian 3035844314
Reference:
1.TOPYS(2019),Space in film, architecture and space.
I appreciate your attempts to describe the space in reality and to analyse specific scenes from the film. However, some of the points can be made clearer. For example, can you clarify how the symmetry of the shot shows the modesty of the church? Overall, the fieldwork material seems limited. Did you take the top photograph yourself? You are also reminded to cite any references used.