INTERNAL AFFAIRS, DIR. Andrew Lau and Alan Mak (2002)
North Point Government Offices, Eastern District, Hong Kong
Hong Kong directors Andrew Lau and Alan Mak produced one of their most popular action thriller movies, Internal Affairs in 2002. The movie is about two spies working for the police force and the criminal organisation. Due to different reasons, the spy working for the police force always met his boss on the rooftop of a building and the climax of the movie, which the two spies waged for a life-and-death struggle, also happened there. This movie location then becomes a famous movie location, and this place is the North Point Government Offices located in the Eastern District.
North Point Government Offices is a one of the buildings consists of different government department working for the public in Hong Kong, including the Customs and Excise Department, Highway Department, Labour Department, etc. General public can seek for help from these departments in this building and make their life easier. Although the officers working in this building is under a serious atmosphere, people can feel safe and trustable to them.
However, in the movie, this building was not only a government building, but also an iconic place and setting of the story. Since spy cannot be exposed to any people, the spy working for police force can only meet and communicate with his boss in a private and secret place. The North Point Government Offices does not have any fancy and aggressive decoration and design. It is a standard normal building with the most regular cuboid shape. Therefore, Andrew and Alan may think that this building is a suitable place for the spy and his boss, and hence showing this place becomes a mysterious one, instead of a well-known building for providing public services to the local residents.
Hence, Andrew and Alan chose to have the rooftop of this building be the venue, which make the building feel much more different than in the reality in terms of people in the building are much above the level the general public. When the building appears in the movies, only the rooftop, mostly, was shown. Also, other places were very small, or only being rarely visible, in the scene. This make the people working or related to the building become quite “far away upon the ground level” in addition to the fact that the rooftop is at a high level of the building. Although this act may change the public’s impression to the building, it is necessary for the story since what happening in the building was far away from the public, which means people can hardly get in touch with the story in the reality. Therefore, a distance could be constructed between the story and the audience, but, at the same time, the close shot of the spy can make the audience be able to “see” the other part of the society.
Apart from the Internal Affairs, the North Point Government Offices is also the film location of other movies, especially those produced in Hong Kong. The movies created another point of view for people to know this building. Therefore, it is also a way to understand our city through the lens of movies.
—- Yan Ka Hin 3035829144
The way you described the building as a space of estrangement, or in your words, “to ‘see’ the other part of the society” reminds me of Foucault’s “Of Other Spaces: Utopias and Heterotopias” (1986). If that was the direction you were going with your reflection, it would be worthwhile to take a closer look at that piece. The worm-eye perspective of the North Point Government Office you presented in the first picture kind of give a gargantuan space vibe which could be worked on setting up the distance and sense of alienation. Is this your original photo from the site? You can also demonstrate the “distance” that was established by the building by contrasting it with the surrounding. Also, you might find it helpful to build your argument through a certain train-of-thoughts, i.e., focusing on one or two key points from the set and unpack the meaning, or reflect upon certain concept, throughout your writing. Lastly, do not forget to put a proper reference to your writing. The citation must be incorporated in the essay, both for cited text and images which are not yours.