Daddy Cool - Mammootty (2009) - Stanley

Next up and father and son head along the waterfront in Stanley. Once a rather bustling area Stanley's fortunes have fallen significantly in recent years. I last went about 2 years ago and the place was dead. It just doesn't seem to have recovered from the COVID years.

The whole musical sequence is a bit choppy so we get views of multiple places in a quick succession of edits. The lower images are from a later part when the pair are out on a boat, but it looks like this was filmed in Stanley Bay. And later still they are back on land hanging around on the reconstructed Blake Pier.

Daddy Cool - Mammootty (2009) - Sai Yeung Choi Street South, Mongkok

During this singing/dance piece the camera work is quite jumpy and erratic so it wasn't possible to capture every quick edit. However, the first street- level view is looking north along Sai Yeung Choi Street South. The big sign above is for the Wing Lung Bank which still stands on the corner of what used to be Nelson Street before it was pedestrianised and turned into an entrance to the nearby MTR station. The bank is still there, but the sign has, sadly, gone. It's in all three images, but in case you can't read Chinese, it's the one with four red characters above the police van in the second image.

Daddy Cool - Mammootty (2009) - Dai Cheong Street, Tai Po Industrial Estate

I jumped ahead of myself because, actually, the first view of Hong Kong we have in Daddy Cool is during the opening scenes as the kid, Adi (Master Dhananjay) is singing about how cool his dad is, and we see a picture of said dad (Mammootty) riding along on what appears to be a police bike. Although the plot has yet to move to Hong Kong, these early scenes were shot on Dai Cheong Street in the Tai Po Industrial Estate.

The first image is at the start of Dai Cheong Street at the junction with Dai Fat Street. The No NEtry sign in the background (now gone) is now the entrance to Dai Hung Street. The lower image is further alonbg Dai Cheong Street to the south. The red brick walls belong to the Resonac factory.

The last time I featured this road on the blog is was for Police Story.

Daddy Cool - Mammootty (2009) - Victoria Harbour

Adding to my growing list of Indian productions shot in Hong Kong is Daddy Cool, a Malayalam language film released in 2009. It stars Mammootty as a cop who is idolised by his cricket-loving son, but sadly I can't speak any Malayalam, so you might be better off reading the plot summary found on Wikipedia. The film was largely shot in India and it appears that the Hong Kong section was just the setting for one of the musical numbers. That said, they managed to squeeze quite a few places into that 10 minute-or-so segment. If you want to watch it, you can find it on Youtube.

Erotic Journey: Love Affair in Hong Kong - Hirokazu Inoue (1973) - Kai Tak Airport

The final location we see is, fittingly, Kai Tak Airport, as Sumio's ever-suffering sister-in-law decides it is time to return to Japan and leave him to wallow in his sadness. Uncharacteristically, it looks like they have walked all the way there as they pop out of a subway on Olympic Avenue and walk towards the terminal. The subway is still there, the airport is not.

Erotic Journey: Love Affair in Hong Kong - Hirokazu Inoue (1973) - Tai Pak, Aberdeen

After discovering that his mate has attacked his inocent sister-in-law, Sumio shoots the man and he and sis go for a heart-to-heart on the Tai Pak in Aberdeen Harbour.

Tai Pak (L), Sea Palace (R)

Erotic Journey: Love Affair in Hong Kong - Hirokazu Inoue (1973) - Views from a vehicular ferry

Unfortunately for Sumio's sister-in-law, the first person she happens to speak to is Sumio's psychopathic new friend who just drugs and assaults women. He starts chatting her up as she rides the vehicular ferry over to Kowloon-side. Sadly we don't get to see the ferry name but one of the good things about these ferries is that they are still utilised as harbour tour/banqueting boats.

Note: there is still a regular vehicular service between North Point <> Kwun Tong. It's utilised by trucks carrying cargo that is banned from being taken through the cross harbour tunnels including anything explosive/poisonous/flammable etc.

Erotic Journey: Love Affair in Hong Kong - Hirokazu Inoue (1973) - Pier Road, Central

Sumio's sister-in-law appears to be as obsessed with him as he is with his estranged wife. She follows him to Hong Kong and the first time we see her is as she walks along Connaught Road next to the old vehicular ferry pier.

I can tell just from the screencaps (not just the ones I have used below, btw) that she starts her walk next to the old "Outlying Districts Services Pier" and walks along the road before crossing next to the "Central Harbour Services Pier". In the background you can see the single lane ramp for access to/from the upper deck at the vehicular ferry pier. These were all located between where the Four Seasons hotel now stands and the 1IFC tower building. Pier Road was a short road service road off Connaught Road Central that fed traffic to the piers. It doesn't exist anymore either.

Erotic Journey: Love Affair in Hong Kong - Hirokazu Inoue (1973) - Repulse Bay, various locations

Sumio goes to Repulse Bay with his new found (and definitely criminal) friend in order to kidnap women. Yes, suffice to say his downward spiral happened quite fast. The initial views can be seen as the pair approach Repulse Bay along Repulse Bay Road in the west, passing Eucliffe on the way. The car pulls off the road outisde #15 South Bay Road (since redeveloped) and the pair get out and head to the Tin Hau Shrine area. Remember, the building next to the statues is not a temple, it's the rather ornate HQ of the Hong Kong Life Guard Association.

Actually, this is the second time we see Repulse Bay because Sumio goes there earlier in the film as he is wandering around random places looking for his wife. This is the top image below (I've never seen it so busy!)

One of the Eucliffe towers in the foreground

#15 South Bay Road

Erotic Journey: Love Affair in Hong Kong - Hirokazu Inoue (1973) - Yau Ma Tei Typhoon Shelter

Sumio's new 'friend' tells him he has found his wife. It turns out it's a lookalike (played by the same actress, Junko Miyashita) who is working as a prostitute on one of the "flower boats" berthed in the typhoon shelter. As most regular readers or people familiar with Hong Kong will know, this whole area was reclaimed into West Kowloon and the typhoon shelter was shifted several hundred meters to the west. 

Erotic Journey: Love Affair in Hong Kong - Hirokazu Inoue (1973) - Findlay Road, The Peak

Sumio gets a lead when he wanders up Findlay Road on the Peak and is stopped by a young hawker who is selling bubbles. It turns out the biy has seen his wife and her boyfriend.

In the background you can see the old stone base for the Peak Hotel

Erotic Journey: Love Affair in Hong Kong - Hirokazu Inoue (1973) - Lau Fau Shan

Sumio even goes out as far as the oyster fields in Lau Fau Shan.

Erotic Journey: Love Affair in Hong Kong - Hirokazu Inoue (1973) - Tiger Balm Gardens

Another location Sumio finds himself in during his fruitless search is Tiger Balm Gardens. This view is from behind the mansion which, it turns out, is in fact the front of the house. There is another brief glimpse later in the film (lower image) after Sumio is recovering from his drug trip and I'm not sure if he was supposed to be there or just hallucinating. It's (the trip) a fairly whacky sequence.

Erotic Journey: Love Affair in Hong Kong - Hirokazu Inoue (1973) - Ladder Street, Sheung Wan

Following the initial top down view, the next camera angle is located on Ladder Street as the thugs try and snatch Sumio's money before a passer-by intervenes and saves him.