Boarding Gate - Asia Argento (2007) - Repulse Bay, Hong Kong

The end of the movie takes place in Repulse Bay, specifically the Repulse Bay Arcade. This shopping mall is a replica of the original hotel (though allegedly built from the same stones) that has been featured on this blog on several occasions, but was sadly demolished in 1982 to make way for the current Repulse Bay Apartments and the aforementioned replica mall. The whole site was redeveloped in 1985 into what can be seen today, fake hotel building and all.

Anyway, first we see Sandra's boss (played by Richard Ng's son, Carl) driving along Repulse Bay Road before heading into the shopping complex to meet his conniving business partner at The Verandah restaurant.

Repulse Bay Road

Driveway at the front of the mall

The Verandah restaurant

Boarding Gate - Asia Argento (2007) - View over Happy Valley, Hong Kong

The angle on this shot suggests the camera was position up on Stubbs Road next door to the famous King Yin Lei. The actual spot overlooking the valley is now obscured because the land there was handed over to the previous owner of King Yin Lei in a land swap deal to secure the aforementioned property as a protected monument.

Anyway, you can just see a corner of Tung Shan Terrace in the bottom right of the screen.

Boarding Gate - Asia Argento (2007) - View from the Shun Tak Centre, Sheung Wan

It seems that Sandra's employers have to keep moving offices to avoid getting caught and by the end of the film they have some rather nice plush offices with a view over to the Four Seasons Hotel and the various ferry piers along the Central Harbourfront. This must have been filmed in the eastern end of the Shun Tak Centre - the China Merchants Tower.

Boarding Gate - Asia Argento (2007) - Man Kung Road, Sai Kung

After being drugged at a club, Sandra wakes up at a mysterious house owned by Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth! In the film she is playing a local business women who has agreed to help Sandra start a new life in China.

This one was tricky to nail down but I think I may have stumbled on a bit of good luck because it looks like the house used was one just off Man Kung Road near Hebe Haven. That's Marina Cove in the background of the third picture below.

Just in the near background of the second picture is the roofs of some houses that are part of a small private house development called "Villa Chrysanthemum". This means the house used for filming was most likely one called "Archivilla". It appears to be part of a three house development that also includes "Hebe Haven" and "Casa de Corsino" but is the only one with a pool.

The question now is...who normally lives there? Answers at the bottom please ;-)

Boarding Gate - Asia Argento (2007) - Garden Road, Central

Some more shots around Central. This one shows the flyover at the end of Garden Road. The walkway at the side is attached to the Cheung Kong Centre.

Boarding Gate - Asia Argento (2007) - Star Ferry Pier, Central

Here is some nostalgia for the much-loved old Star Ferry pier in Central. The pier was closed in November of 2006 and its art deco clock tower is a much missed piece of what was once an iconic waterfront. The Govt promised to preserve it but it was reportedly buried in the Tuen Mun landfill despite assurances to the contrary.

The area is now completely reclaimed and Lung Wo Road has been built over where the old pier was sited.

Boarding Gate - Asia Argento (2007) - Argyle Street, Mongkok

Still on the run, Sandra exits from an underground station that turns out to be exit D2 at Mongkok MTR along Argyle Street.

Boarding Gate - Asia Argento (2007) - Nelson Street, Mongkok

I haven't quite sussed out where they filmed the industrial building that Sandra flees from (somewhere in Kwun Tong I think) - but she crashes out of a side alleyway (lots of those in Hong Kong) and into Nelson Street in Mongkok. We know exactly which alleyway because we can just make out the "Hon Wing Book Company" opposite. Then as she turns to her right we can see an overhead banner for Ladies Market - situated at the junction with Tung Choi Street in front.

The similar angle from Streetview is below. Note the "Clarks" sign and the red and blue sign in the background (obscured in the screencap).

Boarding Gate - Asia Argento (2007) - Carnarvon Road, Tsim Sha Tsui

The Triads' office appears to actually be on Carnarvon Road. Sandra gets out of the taxi and heads up some steps in the Champagne Court building. The brown hoarding on the right of the top screen cap shows where the Tung Ying Building was being demolished at the time. It has since been redeveloped into "The One" but the demolition began in 2006. This film was released in 2007 but actually there is some footage later that proves the filming was done in or before 2006.

Same angle on Streetview

Champagne Court

Boarding Gate - Asia Argento (2007) - Jordan Road, Kwun Chung

On her way to her next contact, the taxi has switched over to Kowloon-side and can be seen driving along Jordan Road. Streetview comparison underneath. The "Sands Sauna" sign is on the edge of Lucky House that sits on Pilkem Street. The blue sign next to it is for a nightclub that sits in what was once the Oriental Ballroom.

Boarding Gate - Asia Argento (2007) - Gloucester Road, Wanchai

Another shot taken from a pedestrian bridge, this time one over Gloucester Road that runs alongside Marsh Road just before the Canal Road flyover/interchange (actually, it looks like it's called the Wanchai Interchange on the maps). The bus on the right is on the flyover. This shot is looking east with the high rises of North Point in the background. 

Boarding Gate - Asia Argento (2007) - Hennessy Road, Wanchai

After meeting her initial HK contact, Sandra is dumped in a taxi on Hennessy Road and sent to another place. It looks as though this was filmed from the pedestrian bridge that connects Wanchai MTR to Immigration Tower in the north to Johnston Road in the south.

Boarding Gate - Asia Argento (2007) - Hong Kong International Airport, Chek Lap Kok

Boarding Gate is directed by Olivier Assayas who will probably be more familiar to HK film fans as the French guy that Maggie Cheung married after she starred in his film Irma Vep. The first half of the film is set in France and the action doesn't move to Hong Kong until well over an hour later as the main character (played by Asia Argento) escapes there to start her new life.

Sadly for us, many of the HK locations that we could look at are largely obscured and blurred by the multiple close up shots of the film's stars - this may have been deliberate but really means that for the most part it seems pointless to have come all this way when the scenes could have been shot anywhere. It turns out much of the HK filming was done guerilla-style without the required permits (and, no doubt, payoffs to the local gangsters/police - they're both the same these days) which may account for some of the styling.

Anyway, regardless, there are some interesting places to see if you squint your eyes at the screen. But to start off here is a quick view of the main character - Sandra - as she arrives in Hong Kong.