Reel talk: Kyoto and Hong Kong both harbour movie memories
Yvonne Teh, Film Editor
I recently visited Kyoto to recharge my batteries. Although my original plan involved staying away from anything film related, I kept happening upon places with cinematic associations.
A case in point: while strolling along Kiyamachi Street in search of a place to have dinner, I came across a signboard that said I was standing near "The Birthplace of the Japanese Motion Picture Industry". Moving images were first projected onto a screen in Japan in February 1897, in the garden of a building belonging to the Kyoto Dento Company that still stands today.
Later, I paid a visit to the Toei Kyoto Studio Park, home to film sets, "behind the scenes" shows where visitors get to see various filmmaking tricks, a labyrinthine ninja mystery house with secret doors galore, and more.
I wish that Hong Kong had similar attractions because places such as Tsim Sha Tsui's Avenue of Stars just can't compare for historical feel or unadulterated film-themed fun.
But I will admit to getting a kick from being in places that have recognisably served as movie locations in Hong Kong, such as the sections of Temple Street where Cantonese opera is performed and fortunes are told that feature in Derek Yee Tung-sing's 1993 romantic drama, . Then there's the seedier parts of the same Yau Ma Tei street made (in)famous in Lawrence Lau Kwok-cheung's 1990 prostitute drama, (for which Sylvia Chang Ai-chia came away with a Hong Kong Film Award for best actress).
Other favourite local locations include: North Point's Sunbeam Theatre, on whose stage Josephine Siao Fong-fong appeared as a Cantonese opera diva in Shu Kei's (1996); the Fringe Club in Central that has featured in movies as diverse as Peter Chan Ho-sun's breezy romantic comedy, (1994), and Dante Lam Chiu-yin's gritty crime film, (2008); and Tsim Sha Tsui East's Wing On Plaza, where the climactic fights in Jackie Chan's action-packed (1985) were waged.
Although some of these places are showing their age, I sincerely hope that they will be around for a while yet - unlike the Midnight Express eatery where Faye Wong's protagonist worked, and California restaurant, where Tony Leung Chiu-wai's character tried to have a date with her in Wong Kar-wai's (1994).
