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.