Je l'aimais - Daniel Auteuil (2009) - Mid-Levels Escalator, Central

Here's the last one from Je L'aimais for the time being. It is just a brief shot of part of the mid-levels escalators. Although I don't use this thing at all and am not really that familiar I think that the top image was shot near the steps from Caine Road (they're the only ones I can see that lead up on the right hand side) and the lower images was most likely filmed along the Staunton Street entrance.

Je l'aimais - Daniel Auteuil (2009) - Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Wanchai

Another of the very brief locations used in the film, as part of Pierre recounting his story in flashback, is the HK Convention and Exhibition Centre. This place has been part of the harbour backdrop since it was constructed in the mid-90's and is where the handover ceremony took place back in 1997. I think this may be the first time I have see the inside used for a foreign film (despite covering almost 150 overseas/foreign movies filmed in Hong Kong, there is still at least another 40 or so I have yet to source and view).

Je l'aimais - Daniel Auteuil (2009) - Gold Coast Hotel, Tuen Mun

One of several locations used for the couples' trysts is the Gold Coast Hotel in Tuen Mun.

Je l'aimais - Daniel Auteuil (2009) - Peel Street, Midlevels

One of the more frequently occurring incidental locations in this film is the upper section of Peel Street where the Mid-levels escalator runs up over Mosque Junction. Several times the actors were filmed walking up and down the steps here. The impression seems to be that the steps are close to Mathilde's apartment, but we already know that place is miles away in North Point.

Je l'aimais - Daniel Auteuil (2009) - Blue House, Stone Nullah Lane

Although I have already identified Mathilde's apartment as being located over in North Point, the film makers decided to use the ground floor of the locally famous "Blue House" as the entrance for her flat. This place is a large example of the type of balconied Chinese tenements that were once more prolific in Hong Kong. Many years ago it was also the location for the bone setting clinic run by famous Hung Gar practitioner, Lam Sai Wing - a student of the much fabled Wong Fei Hung (yes, he was a real person). It recently underwent a renovation, although thankfully not in the usual euphemistic HK way of being demolished but a real renovation that saw it repainted and restored. I haven't been this way for many years (not since before this film was made, perhaps) so don't know if the renovation/restoration kept the original wooden stairs and guardrails intact.

Je l'aimais - Daniel Auteuil (2009) - Empire Apartments, North Point

Mathilde's Hong Kong flat is supposedly on the roof top of a building and there is one scene when the two leave the apartment and have to cross the roof in order to get down. These scenes were filmed on top of the Empire Apartment building on the corner of Hei Wo Street in North Point. This is in fact the residential building next to the State Theatre. The building was constructed in 1957 - just two years prior to the construction of the neighbouring Empire Theatre, which was the State Theatre's original name. It looks as though the film crew did use a real apartment that has been constructed on the buildings roof top. Roof top squatting has been a common occurrence in Hong Kong for many decades and lots of old buildings still have illegally built additions at the top - often cemented in to make them look like part of the original building. I reckon this is one of those that has never been flagged by the Govt - out of sight out of mind.

Je l'aimais - Daniel Auteuil (2009) - Fo Tan Cooked Food Market, Fo Tan

One of the venues that the pair go to on their trips out is the cooked food market in Fo Tan. For those who don't know what these places are they are the HK equivalent of Singapore's Hawker Bazaars - essentially a cluster of informal eateries serving cheap but usually excellent quality food. Despite them being a thriving and excellent part of HK food culture, the HK government hates al fresco dining (the HK Govt hates anyone enjoying themselves) and likes them to be inside and out of everybody's way, and so there are a bunch of purpose-built cooked food centres all over Hong Kong serving really good food but lacking the outdoor environment.

Fo Tan is one of those places where the outdoor 'dai pai dong' format still exists and it's well worth a visit. I was at this very same place just a few months ago before the COVID19 measures were put into place and it was excellent. The Govt punishes these places by denying them alcohol licenses but the proprietors just tell you to head up the road to the local 7-11 or 759 store and buy some cheap beer and they will provide ice buckets and bottle openers for those wanting some beer refreshment.

Je l'aimais - Daniel Auteuil (2009) - Grand Hyatt Hotel, Wanchai

The hotel that Pierre is staying at for his business trip is the Grand Hyatt Hotel, Wanchai. He walks in to the lobby after having a wander around the streets and turns to see Mathilde waiting for him at the bar. The same hotel lobby was used a year previously for the filming of Largo Winch.

Je l'aimais - Daniel Auteuil (2009) - Times Square, Causeway Bay

So despite the fact that his meeting was obviously taking place in Central, when Pierre descends from hi meeting in he office lift he has been transported all the way over to Times Square in Causeway bay. I wonder if he used the same Central/Causeway Bay space/time portal used by Lara Croft a few years earlier?

Anyway, this next set of images have reminded me that Times Square did indeed used to have external elevators that linked up the floor on the lower levels of the property. The building underwent a major refurbishment in the second half of 2009 that removed them and now this external wall is just plain and empty.

Je l'aimais - Daniel Auteuil (2009) - Central View, Hong Kong

The next movie up is another French one, this one also from 2009 (this was a good year for French co-productions in Hong Kong with I Come With The Rain and Vengeance also filmed around that time). It is basically a love story with Pierre (Daniel Auteuil) revealing a love affair from his past to his daughter-in-law following her break up with his son. It's told in flashbacks and much of the affair carried on in Hong Kong so most of the flashbacks are set there.

It starts off with Pierre's first encounter with Mathilde (Marie-Josée Croze) who he meets during a business meeting because she is his translator. The meeting takes place in a nondescript office with a view across Central.

The location? Well, the view makes me think this must be from the Prince's Building facing onto Statue Square and Chater Road area because we can quite clearly see Hutchinson House, Bank of America Tower and the golden Far East Financial Centre. However, I think this is actually a studio set and the image in the window is back projected because the window style doesn't suite Prince's Building and there are no others that appear to tick all the boxes. If you know any different, feel free to let me know.

I Come With The Rain - Josh Hartnett (2009) - Pedestrian Walkways, Central

After spotting someone who he thinks is the elusive Shitao, Kline runs around trying to figure out how to reach him. As anyone not familiar with Hong Kong knows, negotiating the labyrinthine walkways around Central can be frustrating and so it proves as Kline's quarry avoids him with ease without even realising he is being followed.

I Come With The Rain - Josh Hartnett (2009) - Lockhart Road, Wanchai

As Kline wanders around looking for Shitao he walks down Lockhart Road. This is about half way along the section between Percival Street and Canal Road.

I Come With The Rain - Josh Hartnett (2009) - View from Queensway Government Offices, Central

Sadly, most of the remainder of the locations from this film were shot at night which makes it a bit difficult to make out much detail. However, here is a nice shot of the Bank of China Tower and others as Kline heads up to a rooftop and zooms in on various locations nearby in his search for the elusive Shitao. Kline's vantage point appears top be the Queensway Government Offices above Pacific Place. The roof edge has a distinctive shape which is revealed when he goes for a run around the top.

View down to Murray Road

View between BoC and ICBC

View up Cotton Tree Drive (above)

View across to the CITIC building as Kline runs around the roof

I Come With The Rain - Josh Hartnett (2009) - Paterson Street, Causeway Bay

Speaking of Paterson Street, at various points we are shown a sort of religiously inspired street character who plays a significant role towards the end of the film. In the following scene though he is lying on the floor in one of the alleyways separating Causeway Bay Mansion and Towning Mansion, along Paterson Street, and as he looks up the open sky forms a cross shape. The first image below shows the view down the southern end of Paterson Street from just by Kingston Street.

I Come With The Rain - Josh Hartnett (2009) - Yee Wo Street, Causeway Bay

Kline has been told that Shitao is most likely part of the large homeless community that lives in Hong Kong, so we have a variety of locations across the city where he goes to take pictures to see if he can spot the person he's looking for. In the images below, Hartnett and the camera are located on the circular walkway that crosses Yee Wo Street in Causeway Bay. Paterson Street is on the right and you can just make out the SOGO sign in the distant background.

I Come With The Rain - Josh Hartnett (2009) - former Kai Tak Airport, Kowloon

Despite the old airport being shut down in 1998, the land it was on basically remained derelict for the best part of the next 15 years or so as the Govt held their usual meetings about meetings regarding what to do with the site. In the meantime some film companies took advantage of this big open space and shot some movies on it. Remember that another French co-production, Vengeance, shot a fair amount of action on the old runway.

Anyway, around the same time that Vengeance was being filmed, so was this movie and the main location where Shitao has his little ramshackle shed was located on the old runway. A fair amount of footage was shot here including all the shed scenes when Shitao is doing his healing as well as the reverse car chase when Shawn Yue's policeman character spots the main baddie (played by Lee Byung-hun) leaving the area.