The movie revolves around 2 different romantic stories, each involving a cop. The 2 stories are told separately without any interconnection. In the first story, a policeman, who had recently broken up with his girlfriend in April waits for at least a month before finding love again. On May 1, he finds a woman in a blonde wig, who had been on a run due to messing up a drug smuggling. They both end up in a hotel room but she leaves him the next morning alone. The second story begins with Faye, a new girl at a snack bar in Chungking mansion, who stood up a policeman she fell in love with as she feels like there’s more to explore in the world, and hence, isn’t ready to settle down. The place I have chosen from the movie for analysis is the Graham Street Market, located in Central, near Hollywood Street.
Graham Street Market, located near the mid-levels escalators, is more than a 160 years old and appeared more than once in the movie. The market is presented as a very busy and noisy wet market with people shopping for fresh vegetables and fruits along with some shops selling meat. Some low-rise buildings can be seen in the background as well as a street full of cars and people dining outdoor in the small food stalls, such as the cop when Faye tells him not to drink do much black coffee. The sellers and shoppers shown in the movie are mostly middle-aged people running errands. However, in reality, the market has lost almost all of its charm due to excessive industrialization around the market and with many buildings under construction. Most of the stalls have disappeared with only a few fruit stalls in the opening of the market still seen to be running. A lot of international shops nearby, including competitors selling organic food in air-conditioned stores, have attracted many customers. Not many people can be seen running errands in the market but just passing through it, unlike in the movie. Though the market is a bit quiet, the streets around it are very noisy and filled with traffic, which is kind of similar to the scenes in the movie.
I think the director presented the market as a very hectic and noisy street in the movie to show the hardship of living in a city, such as as when the cop carries a basket of fruits for Faye and all the workers are busy in the background, but yet there is also convenience of a living in a city. Many workers can be seen eating in the small outdoor food stalls, depicting the busy work lifestyle and the reliance of most workers nearby on the market for lunch and dinner, which shows the lack of international fast food stalls in Hong Kong in the past and the enjoyment of local food culture. These scenes are shown to show the local shopping experience of residents and tourists in a developed city with a touch of traditional style, such as the fruit stalls, depicting the existence of simplicity in times of industrialisation.
Gul Bilal, (3035805851)
You have made good comparisons between the site represented in the film and that in reality. Why did the director want to present the hardship of living in a city through Graham Street? How did the fruit/ food stalls help depict the hardship? What is the atmosphere like in the film? You observe that the charm of the market has disappeared due to the opening of high-end stores nowadays. You may want to discuss the notion of ‘disappearance’ with regard to Ackbar Abbas’ piece to better anchor your ideas.