[Fieldwork Podcast]: The Longest Summer

Introduction + Background information

Sylvia: Hi, everyone. Welcome to our podcast today on architecture and film. We’re your hosts today. I’m Sylvia

Sally: And I’m Sally. Today we’ll be talking about the film The Longest Summer, produced by Hong Kong independent director Fruit Chan in 1998, soon after the return of Hong Kong to China. The film talked about a group of Hong Kong soldiers of the British Army who suddenly lost their identities after serving in the army for a long time. After joining the gang, the protagonist Ga Yin and his buddies strived to find their identity in the upcoming era in Hong Kong. The film successfully depicts their tragic story to highlight the chaos and helplessness of the era.

Sylvia: Right. But before we further delve into the film, I think it’s worthwhile to talk about the director, Fruit Chan.

Sally: Sure. Sylvia, can you tell us what’s so special about the film director?

Sylvia: Well, Fruit Chan is famous for his realistic style and concern for the marginalized and lower classes. For example, the image of desolate public housing in Hong Kong has remained critical to his portrayal of Hong Kong people’s suffering. His interview regarding The Longest Summer revealed his keen interest in filming real-life scenes to accurately reflect reality, which he believed studio films could not. Also, he is well known for using amateur actors as he believed that only ordinary people could perform well in real-life situations.

Sally: Alright. Throughout this audio podcast, we’ll explore how Fruit Chan well-utilized film techniques and the portrayal of Hong Kong urban spaces to illustrate the real issues faced by a group of dissatisfied former Hong Kong soldiers at the time of the city’s handover to China.

Discussion and Analysis

Sylvia: Right. So starting from the beginning of the film, the director displayed a prominent urban feature of Hong Kong, the MTR, displaying a crowd of people pouring into the train. One ex-soldier was being squeezed into the carriage. The director used a shaky cam to depict how the character swayed with the crowd and the train, alluding to his current chaotic and unsettled mind.

Sally: Yes, this group of ex-soldiers failed to adapt to the new environment because of the substantial social transformation of Hong Kong caused by the turnover. Sylvia, can you give us some examples of how such mental struggles are related to urban spaces, just like this scene in MTR?

Sylvia: Well, first of all, it’s evident that all the city subjects convey emotions and contribute to the plot development. Some of the architecture filmed in the movie was closely related to the critical plot and characters’ development. This is to say that the architectures were more than just background scenes. Their physical attributes helped the director with character-building, representing and featuring the protagonists’ emotions. The suburban water park was a great example, continually reflecting the characters’ subtle yet chaotic emotional changes.

Sally: That’s true. I still remember the title characters’ first and second appearances at the suburban water park, which showed them as hobos with nothing to do with disbelief in themselves. There is a scene in which Ga Yin struggles to walk through the waist-high water, walking slowly and arduously, which echoes his tormented mind: unable to find a job and not knowing where the future lies.

Sylvia: And there is a pull-out shot that shows the characters too small in relation to the water park, as if they were too weak to struggle with the greater society. However, their third appearance at the river occurred after their bank robbery, where they got seven million dollars. The director showcased them burning their clothes and tossing the gun into the river, which implies that they were trying to say goodbye to their past.

Sally: Another typical example in the film is the State Theatre Building. The film depicts the main character walking on the round-arched beams while the protagonists are conspiring the bank rubbery, giving the audience a sense of danger and implying that they are about to do something outside the norm, that they are about to take a risk.

Sylvia: Other city subjects are also pretty important. For example, the Lin Heung Tea House marks a turning point in Ga Yin’s life, where he fought with the young men. The director uses a shaky cam and panning shots to show the fight, highlighting the intense atmosphere. In contrast, however, this historic traditional Cantonese tea house is permanently closed in real life due to operational difficulties during the pandemic. Now we can only feel a sense of desolation from its remains.

Sally: This is interesting. The old era of Hong Kong’s classic architecture exits the stage of the times but marks the opening of a new era. You also mentioned the use of a shaky cam and panning shots. I’ve noticed some other techniques that are worth mentioning in the film. For example, one of Fruit Chan’s most impressive filming angles in the movie is his portrayal of Lai Tak Tsuend, where the girl asks Ga Yin to leave Hong Kong with her. The scene starts with an overhead shot, displaying characters moving along the dozens of deep floors. This angle makes the building a bottomless pit in the darkness and suggests that Ga Yin was trapped in the city and unable to leave.

Sylvia: Right. This is followed by an elevation shot depicting the building from the bottom to the top. Light passes through the layers of floors, emphasizing the deepness of the building. This transition between overhead and upward angles gives a rich visual experience of the inner structure of the building, also highlighting the gap between Ga Yin and the girl.

Sally: In addition to the flexible usage of different angles, Fruit Chan also used several montages in the film that are worth mentioning.

Sylvia: True. One montage of shots struck me at the film’s climax, where the five guys are imagining their success in robbing the bank, which is intercut with their past brilliant moments during their soldier training. The scenes alternate between them being soldiers in the past and being thieves in the present, displaying a sense of dark humor and sarcasm. Ironically, during this perplexing period in Hong Kong, even former soldiers who are supposed to represent integrity and justice are driven to rub a bank. There is a huge contrast between their nostalgic past and the future they long for.

Sally: Another notable use of montage comes late in the film when Ga Yin is shot and falls to the ground. The gangster hit him in the back of the head, and he slowly falls to the ground. Immediately afterward, the scene shifts to him being shot as a soldier, then called back to the scene of his friends being attacked, and ultimately back to Ga Yin’s point of view again. By linking these scenes together, the director announces the death of the protagonists and suggests their defeat in this battle with society.

Sylvia: Yeah, and aside from montages, I also wanna mention Fruit Chan’s portrayal of contrasts in the film.

Sally: Sure. Can you give us some examples and explain what they offer to the film?

Sylvia: Well, probably the most remarkable contrast in the film is when our title characters are on a bus. Female high school students insult them as stupid folks but are thrown out the window as a result. The ex-soldiers failure contrasts with the fresh vigor of the teenage girls. The five are like the sunset of the previous century. Their anger of being insulted figures their helplessness, reluctance, and fear towards the aging of life. However, the girls resemble the sunrise of the new era, full of energy and hope.

Sally: Another scene that stood out to me was when the main characters, ready to avenge their brother, entered the disco surrounded by celebrating people. Their faces were glowing with colorful lights, and the background music was loud, cheering and drumming. But at this time, they had no desire to celebrate, as their friend had disappeared. Interestingly, when one of them waved his arms like people around him, the rest of the group looked at him as if they were numb to the celebration. Dullness and confusion were evident on their faces, starkly contrasting with the spirited people around them. They were out of place in the cheerful atmosphere, just like their social identity, trying to fit in this new era but failing.

Ending

Sylvia: In conclusion, alongside the notable physical features of Hong Kong, the film aims to portray the title characters seeking self-identity and belongings in this chaotic yet critical handover time. While Hong Kong’s handover to China marks the city’s liberation and coming new opportunities, it brings the tragedy of people like Ga Yin who are abandoned by society.

Sally: Additionally, the movie depicts the real-life events of these five minor, marginalized individuals. By displaying the tragic fate of the five people, Fruit Chan implies the evolving yet chaotic wider environment. In many different shots, he expresses loneliness and confusion but love towards the city: the suburban water park, the prison-like public housing complex, the State Theater Building, and other representing architectures. In summary, the movie portrays Hong Kong people’s conflicted feelings of hope and despair regarding the handover. This concludes our podcast and thanks for listening.