Yu Laoshi began her week of lessons today and we talked about the history of film in Hong Kong and various elements of the movie Chunking Express. During the first part of the class, Yu Laoshi told us about the history of Wong Kar-wai, the director of the film and different genres of Hong Kong films throughout the years, such as family melodramas, Cantonese operas, comedy, and action/crime that involve martial art choreography. We watched clips from several famous movies, discussing ways the director would convey certain meanings/feelings, such as through symbols like bamboo or music.
During the next part of the class, we analyzed the messages from Chungking Express and delved into each of the four main characters. After our discussion and lunch, we met back up at 3 pm to go visit Chungking Mansions, the setting for the eponymous film.
The mansion seemed to be a huge mall with numerous foods stalls, technology stores, currency exchange places, and narrow hallways. The building struck me as old or used, in stark contrast to the surrounding area doused with Rolex, expensive jewelry, and clothing stores. Before we visited, the Hong Kong students had shared their fear that Chungking Mansions is not a safe place to go, and although I probably would not like to walk around by myself, it did not seem dangerous.
We walked towards the water and eventually found the Bruce Lee statue and some handprints of celebrities, like Jackie Chan. We returned to Chungking Mansions for a very tasty Indian supper and then I returned with a few other students back to Lingnan to call it a night.
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Journals by:
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