Walking Between Slums and Skyscrapers: Illusions of Open Space in Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Shanghai

3 Between Representations of Space and Representational Spaces: Flaneurie With the Camera's Eye

etween฀Representations฀of฀Space฀and฀ Representational฀Spaces:฀ FlaneurieWith฀th e฀Camera's฀Eye฀ 1 o la y ou t th e interactio n betwee n th e representatio n o f spac e an d th e representational spac e i n Hon g Kon g fo r a critica l readin g o f th e Utopia n discourse of globalization, it is essential to examine the director's gaze which mediates th e walkers ' experienc e o f urba n spac e i n th e film . 1 argue tha t Wongs Chungking Express is afldneurie, or more precisely, a cognitive mapping of the director. Wong's attempt t o offer a n alternative but authentic ma p of his city throug h th e routes and footstep s o f his imploding fldneur identity, the multiple walkers in the film, confounds an d at the same time confirm s the overriding global space in Hong Kong. Shock Defense and the Director-Flaneur's Authentic Map of Hong Kong Mapping Hong Kong with the camera and assuming the identity of the walkers on th e street,Won g take s o n th e characteristi c o f a Baudelairean fldneur. approaching th e reality of the vast terrain o f city spaces with his intereste d and investigative gaze. In fact, the film Chungking Express can be seen as the director-jldneur's shoc k defense , a n attemp t t o mak e connection s wher e experience i s flattened out . Wong's project o f mapping ou t th e cit y with a private eye so as to reinscribe an authentic image of Hong Kong before it is This chapte r i s developed fro m th e author's article "Hon g Kong Blue: Fldneurie Wit h th e Camera's Ey e in a Phantasmagoric Globa l City " i n Journal oj Narrative Theory, 30 , no. 3 (2000). 50฀Hon g฀Kong฀Blue฀ lost forever is an effort not too different fro m Benjamin's arcade project or the Baudelairean flaneur's poem o f retainin g th e momen t o f encounterin g hi s "love at last sight."' Chungking Express thereby materializes a fldneur'smappin g of the city : "[m]an y peopl e ask me if Chungking [Express] i s a love letter I wrote to Hong Kong. But I'm not that romantic. To me it feelslike a diary or a map. All the scenes were shot according to the logic of the place. If yougo to Hong Kong after seeing Chungking Express, you won't get lost" (emphasis mine). 2 The apparent guide book rationale implies the director's ambition to capture the "logi c o f th e place " i n a city where spatia l change s ofte n outpac e th e revisions of maps due to its constant dual compression. A beehive building: Chungkin g Mansion . (Picture take n by the author i n September 2002 ) The urban spectacle the director-JIdneur strolls through resists attempts to replicate or repeat the cliched images of Hong Kong: Wong's intention is to present an insider's version, defamiliarizing Hong Kong before presenting an "authentic" interpretive gri d of the city. The title of the film, indicating th e two major sites of the film, Chungking Mansion in Tsim Sha Tsui and Midnight Express in Central, foregrounds the fldneur'salternativ e take of the cityscape. Wong justifies such a choice in his interviews: Between฀Representations฀of฀Space฀and฀Representational฀Spaces฀5 1฀ It฀[Chungking฀Mansion ]฀i s฀a฀very฀famous฀buildin g฀i n฀HK฀[Hong฀Kong].฀ Statistics฀show฀that฀about฀5000฀tourists฀visit฀it฀every฀day.฀With฀its฀200฀lodgings,฀ it฀is฀a฀mix฀of฀different฀cultures.฀Even฀for฀the฀people฀of฀neighborhood,฀it฀is฀a฀ legendary฀plac e฀wher e฀th e฀relation s฀betwee n฀th e฀peopl e฀ar e฀ver y฀ complicated.฀It฀has฀always฀fascinated฀and฀intrigued฀me.฀It฀is฀also฀a฀permanent฀ hotspot฀for฀the฀cops฀in฀HK฀because฀of฀the฀illegal฀traffic฀that฀take฀[sic]฀place฀ there.฀That฀mass-populated฀and฀hyperactive฀place฀is฀a฀great฀metaphor฀for฀ the฀Town฀herself.3฀ Along with Chungkin g Mansion, Midnight Express , the site of the secon d part of the film, located in Central's Lan Kwai Fong district, where "a lot of bars, a...