No culpes al karma de lo que te pasa por gilipollas - Verónica Echegui (2016) - Sheung Wan View

After leaving hospital, Sara convalesces in a hotel. The view is from what was the Holiday Inn Express which has since been rebranded as a Hilton Motto. The view is from there but it looks to me as though, for the second image, it's most likely a studio shot with a back projection. The reason being is that the curved window seems to be out of place. It's just my opinion though. The entrance to the hotel is on Jervois Street.

No culpes al karma de lo que te pasa por gilipollas - Verónica Echegui (2016) - Hennessy Road, Causeway Bay

Some more general shots of Hong Kong as Sara is taken to hospital. This one shows the view looking west along Hennessy Road towards the Canal Road Flyover. The shot was obtained by putting the camera on the pedestrian walkway that links the two sides of Percival Street.

No culpes al karma de lo que te pasa por gilipollas - Verónica Echegui (2016) - Chun Yeung Street, North Point

After feeling ill on the minbus (anyone who has ridden on a red minibus in Hong Kong can empathise), Sara gets off and the pair walk along the street as she feels increasingly ill. She then collapses. This was all filmed along Chun Yeung Street (春秧街) in North Point. It's one of those streets pushed by the HK Tourism Board for being a bit quaint. The street has a local wet market whose stalls are located right next to the North Point tram terminus. I think the tourism board wants to pretend this street market is like those ones you see in Vietnam or Thailand where everyone has to move their stalls when the train breezes through (Narrator: it's not).

No culpes al karma de lo que te pasa por gilipollas - Verónica Echegui (2016) - Statue Square, Central

As the pair make their way across town, we get a brief glimpse of the skyscrapers around Statue Square in Central. From left to right we have the Bank of China Tower, Cheung Kong Centre, HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank and on the far right, the Prince's Building. 
 

No culpes al karma de lo que te pasa por gilipollas - Verónica Echegui (2016) - Pottinger Street, Central

Another of the location seen on their route home is the lower section of Pottinger Street just up from Queen's Road Central.

No culpes al karma de lo que te pasa por gilipollas - Verónica Echegui (2016) - D'Aguilar Street, Central

The pair head back to his apartment via D'Aguilar Street. This is a view of D'Aguilar Street from the lower (northern) Queen's Road Central-end looking up the hill.

No culpes al karma de lo que te pasa por gilipollas - Verónica Echegui (2016) - Hennessy Road, Causeway Bay

After being lost for a bit, Sara finally manages to meet her boyfriend on the pavement where Hennessy Road meets Yee Wo Street and Jardine's Bazaar. Quite the leap from Mongkok.

No culpes al karma de lo que te pasa por gilipollas - Verónica Echegui (2016) - View from the Peak Viewing Tower

The first Spanish entry for the blog comes in the form of No culpes al karma de lo que te pasa por gilipollas (Eng: Don't Blame it on your Karma), a romantic comedy starring Verónica Echegui as Sara, a girl whose world gets very complicated when a horde of people suddenly descend on her apartment in Madrid. I am familar with some of the actors courtesy of recently watching some Spanish language dramas on Netflix. Echegui was in Ciudad de sombras (City of Shadows) a murder mystery set in Barcelona and her co-star (and partner at the time) Álex García is in the excellent The Glass Cuckoo (El cuco de cristal). The only sad thing about all this is the fact that Echegui passed away last August (2025) from cancer at the very young age of 42.

Most of the film was shot in Madrid, but during the last third she goes to visit her boyfriend in Hong Kong and the establishing shots are some views from Victoria Peak, most likely from the Peak Viewing Tower given the angle. You can compare the angle with this one in The Gray Man. It's exactly the same. The second image is a close up (of Wanchai area) of the section on the right in the first image.

Daddy Cool - Mammootty (2009) - Central Waterfront

Some scenes were also shot in front of the IFC mall on the Central Waterfront.

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) - 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) - 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) - 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) - 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) - 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.

Erotic Journey: Love Affair in Hong Kong - Hirokazu Inoue (1973) - View from Kung Lee Church Mansions

Kung Lee Church Mansions on Bridges Street is the only location from where this view could be filmed as we see Sumio walking up Ladder Street before being attacked by a couple of thugs who try to steal his wallet. The sequence starts with a view over towards Central before panning down to focus on Ladder Street. The building next to the steps on the left is the Chinese YMCA building that is still around.