Wing Lee Street setting of movie a vanishing Hong Kong heritage

HONG KONG: Creators of the award-winning Echoes of the Rainbow, honored over the weekend at the Berlin Film Festival, have called for the preservation of the street that served as the setting for the film, Wing Lee Street.

The film tells the story of a shoemaker's family in the 1960s. Wing Lee Street in Central was the only Hong Kong street the producers could find, retaining characteristics of 60s Hong Kong, said director Alex Law Kai-yui. He spoke to a press briefing yesterday after Echoes of the Rainbow won the Crystal Bear for the Best Feature Film in the Generation section of the 60th Berlinale 2010 on Sunday.

"If we weren't able to find the street, we would have to shoot the film in Guangzhou or Malaysia. How absurd it would be if a film about Hong Kong history had to be shot outside Hong Kong," said Mabel Cheung Yuen-ting, the producer and Law's wife.

Most tenements along Wing Lee Street, one of the oldest Chinese neighborhoods of Hong Kong, are to be torn down to make way for residential buildings under a redevelopment project approved by the Urban Renewal Authority in 2008.

The film is set in Sham Shui Po and revolves around the life of a shoemaking Guangzhou immigrant, his feisty wife and their two sons. Without twists and turns in plot, the story about common folks in Hong Kong touched an audience comprising young people and children in Germany.

Law, also the screenwriter, said that he has contemplated the story for decades: A large portion of the film came from the diary he kept since his primary school and later composed into a eponymous prose collection.

The urge to tell the story through a film grew stronger and stronger in recent years, "perhaps because of the discussion about the post-1980s people's lack of direction and a lot of negative energy in society," he said.

The people of the 60s faced no fewer difficulties than the younger generation born after the 1980s, Law said.

"But we don't complain. When we met obstacles, we circumvented them or took a new route. Therefore, I've been really, really wanting to make this film in recent years," he said.

But his main intention is to tell the story as it is, rather than bringing out a message.

"I have had this story in my heart for all these years. This is a closure so I can undertake a fresh journey," he said.

Law said he didn't try to target a Western audience and the award came as a surprise.

Giving suggestions to fellow Hong Kong film makers, he said it's more important to have genuine local flavor than to cater to a certain audience.

"If you watch a French movie, would you want something truly French or a French movie about Hong Kong's Dai Pai Dong?" he asked.

Both Law and Cheung took the opportunity to express gratitude to the actors and crew for working for the film despite the modest remuneration, especially Sandra Ng Kwan-yue and Simon Yam Tat-wah, who starred in the movie.

Ng described her remuneration as a "special price for relatives".

Ng decided to take on the project because she was deeply touched by the script. "I cried after reading it five times on the computer," she said. "And I really hate computers."

Scripts she usually receives contain only simple instructions such as "fight fiercely" or "cry". But the script for Echoes of the Rainbow even had descriptions for a goldfish or a shoe, Ng said.

Echoes has also been nominated for the Best Screenplay and Best Original Film Song at the 29th Hong Kong Film Awards to be held on April 18. Cinema screenings will start from March 11.

(HK Edition 02/23/2010 page1)