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Wong Kar Wai's world in my eyes. Photographs of Hong Kong by Todd Fong |
| When it comes to Hong Kong, I’ve always had a strong emotions about it. When I’m away from Hong Kong, I can talk trash about it forever. The pushy and sometimes downright rude crowds, the persistent smell of diesel fumes and rotting garbage (giving a new twist to it’s name meaning "fragrant harbor"), the tiny and expensive hotel rooms. Don’t get me wrong; I have good friends in Hong Kong and I’m always happy to see them, but the city itself doesn’t appeal to me when I’m safe at home in quiet, somewhat blah Singapore. |
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But when I’m in Hong Kong, sitting in my hotel room, there’s something about the world outside that calls to me. Maybe I’ve seen too many Hong Kong movies that glamorize the streets and people. The gaudy neon signs becomes as colorful flower gardens. The rush of people, like a swiftly flowing river. The chaos of Hong Kong suddenly becomes as perfectly natural as the rainforest. |
| Perhaps the person who has captured Hong Kong at it’s best is film director Wong Kar Wai. A favorite of director Quentin Tarantino and a winner in 1996 Cannes Film Festival for his film, "Happy Together", Wong’s vision of Hong Kong is of a Technicolor world which is not just one big society, but of interesting people entwined in one another’s lives. |
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I decided to try and experience Wong’s vision of Hong Kong for myself. With my trusty digital camera in hand, I ventured out into the streets of the city to try and capture the same feelings that Wong Kar Wai has in his films. My quest took me to Causway Bay and Mongkok, two of Hong Kong’s most lively places after the working day is over. |
| I attempted to catch both the perpetual motion of the city along with the electric colors brought out only by the night. I’ll let you decide the results. Maybe I didn’t see Hong Kong in the same way Wong Kar Wai sees it, but I did learn to respect the city as a unique and interesting place. It still doesn’t smell very good though. |
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