Ballad of a Small Player - Colin Farrell (2025) - The Venetian, Macau

This is the last post for Ballad of a Small Player (unless I can identify some of the more obscure interiors). It's been a while since I stayed here (10+ years) but I think I recognise some of the interior at the Venetian including the food court where Doyle sits down and gets given a bit of reality by Cynthia Blithe (Tilda Swinton). The last time I was here it still had a Fatburger!

This is the small garden/putting course on the hotel podium

Ballad of a Small Player - Colin Farrell (2025) - The Cotai Strip, Various locations

I've mentioned the colourful cinematography of the film, so it's worth including some of the general establishing shots used, the following being from around the casinos on the Cotai Strip.

Ballad of a Small Player - Colin Farrell (2025) - Rotunda do Istmo, Taipa

Although the film starts with Doyle in his hotel room at the Wynn, the following few minutes is occupied by a montage as Doyle narrates his circumstances. There are lots of views from all over Macau so I thought it would be nice to see them, starting off with this view of the Rotunda do Istmo - the main traffic roundabout at the north end of the Cotai Strip. If this shot looks familiar it might be because it is an almost exact replica of one I posted from the Strangers series several years ago. The only real difference to be seen between then and now is the addition of the faux "Big Ben" in front of "The Londoner" (yes, I know it's not really called Big Ben but as an often part-time resident of Westminster, I have special naming privileges...).

Story of Ricky - Louis Fan Siu-wong (1991) - Taipa-Coloane Causeway, Macau

One of the most over the top gratuitously gory and violent movies ever to come out of Hong Kong is Story of Ricky. Based on the Riki-Oh manga comic, it follows the trials and tribulations of convicted killer Ricky (Louis Fan), jailed for killing his girlfriend's rapist, as he finds himself in the middle of a corrupt and violent institute run by a sadistic warden and his assistant. Its Japanese comic origins explain why the violence is OTT but there was obviously a budgetary constraint involved and the crew did a fantastic job on what looks like limited resources. If there are any fans of Peter Jackson's Bad Taste reading this then you will appreciate the effects/FX in this film. 

The opening shots of the film are a bit of lost history because they were filmed on what was once the causeway (or isthmus) that connected Taipa to Coloane. It's historical because this place doesn't exist anymore, at least not in any recognisable form, since the reclamation between the two former islands - the Cotai Strip - joined them together. The route of this old causeway is still there but now supports the Estrada do Istmo, the main road that runs through the centre of the Cotai Strip.

It's hard to believe that the left hand side of the top image is now completely filled with garish casinos and hotels. Google Earth's Macau imagery is quite old now (2008), but you can still get a feel for the changes by looking at this similar view. 

Amor e Dedinhos de Pé - Joaquim de Almeida (1993) - Templo Pequeno de Kun Iam, Taipa

Here's another great example of how much things have changed in Macau over the past couple of decades (if seeing the horror of the Cotai Strip wasn't enough). There is a very brief glimpse of a small beach-side shrine built upon a stone terrace. Believe it or not this is the Templo Pequeno de Kun Iam that now has a large main road in front of it called Estrada Nordeste da Taipa. Click on this Googlemaps link to compare the modern view with the early 90s shot below. There is a similar image over on the Macau Memories website.

Amor e Dedinhos de Pé - Joaquim de Almeida (1993) - Avenida da Praia, Taipa

There are a few scenes in this film shot along the Avenida da Praia in Taipa, however, it's easily missed because it appears that the production crew went to great lengths to construct a large facade that covered the Taipa Houses (collectively known as the "Taipa Houses Museum") to give the appearance of more houses, and greater height, connected in a terrace. So in the screen shots below you can see that the street does look very familiar, but the houses on the right of the frame are all completely fake.

Given that the production appears to have constructed a colonial-style house on the seafront in Coloane, then the creation of a facade here to give the impression of more, taller properties is not that unbelievable.

Zegen - Ken Ogata (1987) - Avenida da Praia, Taipa

A brief journey (i.e. a single post) into the Japanese film Zegen, filmed in 1987 and starring Ken Ogata. Ogata is most perhaps better known to western audiences for his portrayal of the adult Mishima in 1985's Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters but he was also in The Pillow Book playing "The Father".

In the film, Ogata is Iheiji Muraoka, a poor fisherman who swims from Japan to Hong Kong in the hope of a better life. However, after settling down he is forced into service as a spy for the Imperial Japanese Army and ends up being inspired to create a network of brothels - the Japanese National Brothel - to service the ever expanding number of colonising soldiers. Apparently, Zegen (女衒) is a Japanese term for a philanderer.

This is one of those films that has been uploaded to the Internet Archive website, so you can view it at the following link: https://archive.org/details/zegen.-1987

Even though some scenes are set here, the film wasn't actually filmed in Hong Kong as far as I can tell. Instead, for some of its Hong Kong scenes, the film used Taipa in Macau as well as another location - a hillside village - that definitely wasn't Hong Kong or Macau (where though? I have no idea. Edit: it's Jiufen in Taiwan, see comment below). In the top image you can see the former waterfront along the praya on the left. All the area of sea behind it in the background is now part of the Cotai Strip.

In the story, Iheiji and his fellow swimmers have just arrived in Hong Kong and their local contact has instead told them to go to the Japanese Consulate for help. The house used as the consulate is the first house in the row and is now the "Museu Vivo Macanese" (although this is spelt as "Macaense"on Googlemaps). 

Legacy of Rage - Brandon Lee (1986) - Regency Art Hotel, Macau

Although we are still supposed to be in Hong Kong, the hotel sequence - when May and family return to their hotel and are recognised by Michael - was shot at what was, back then, the Macau Hyatt Regency. It was a fairly new hotel when this film was made. It's still around but is no longer managed by Hyatt as far as I know. It was refurbished circa 2009 and reopened as the Macau Regency Art Hotel. I stayed here not long after the refurb back at a time when the kids were young enough to enjoy the annual Macau fireworks competition.The rooms on the north west side have a great view of the bay where the fireworks are set off. 

Pedicab Driver - Sammo Hung (1989) - Jardim do Carmo, Taipa

Sammo's amazing leap from the church terrace lands him right back in Taipa. It must be a world record jump because the pedicab touches down on the pathway next to the Jardim do Carmo with Rua do Supico right in front. Actually, one of the things that makes some of the more difficult to find locations in this chase scene is that Sammo appears to have filmed everywhere - so I haven't been able to narrow down some of the more obscure places.

Pedicab Driver - Sammo Hung (1989) - Rua do Supico, Taipa

Here's a spot people might remember from Project A a while back. It's Rua do Supico with its retaining wall and strange plaque that says "Monte Dos Amores". Actually, in that Project A link the road is the previously mentioned Rua da Restauração, but the sloped section closer to the Carmel Church.

The section of the wall we can see here is actually on Rua do Supico which intersects with Rua da Restauração at the bottom of the slope.

Pedicab Driver - Sammo Hung (1989) - Rua da Restauração, Taipa

Not to be confused with Rua da Restauração on peninsula Macau, another part of the chase scene sees Sammo & co back to Taipa as he turns uphill from Avenida da Praia onto a unnamed road that connects to Rua da Restauração. This short, steep road still looks very much the same today as it did back in 1989 and can be found at the far eastern end of the Praia near to the footbridge that connects the Taipa viewing platform to the old waterfront.

Pedicab Driver - Sammo Hung (1989) - Avenida da Praia, Taipa

On the journey back from the temple, Malt Candy takes Siu Choi along Taipa's own Avenida da Praia - in front of the popular Taipa Houses Museum.

Pedicab Driver - Sammo Hung (1989) - Rua Direita Carlos Eugénio, Taipa

I know that Malt Candy starts his journey with a shot of Rua Fernão Mendes Pinto, but the editor sneaks in a quick glimpse of the same road further to the east where it goes by the name of Rua Direita Carlos Eugénio. Regular readers should be able to recognise the location because it's shot from the Calçada do Carmo.

Pedicab Driver - Sammo Hung (1989) - Rua Fernão Mendes Pinto, Taipa

After knocking Siu Chui off her feet, literally, Malt Candy is already smitten and offers to take her to her destination free of charge. The first road we see them travelling down is Rua Fernão Mendes Pinto on Taipa. On the right hand side of the frame is the outer wall of the Iec Long Firecracker compound.

Pedicab Driver - Sammo Hung (1989) - Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Carmo, Taipa

The scene where Malt Candy (Max Mok) first meets Siu Chui (Fennie Yuen) by knocking her over with his pedicab was filmed in front of the Carmel Church on Taipa. This is a popular spot for period Hong Kong films over the years and has been seen here before several times. It also features a bit later in the movie as Sammo's pedicab is being chased down by the gangster's car (bottom image).

The Last Time I Saw Macao - João Rui Guerra da Mata (2012) - Rotunda Dr. Carlos A. Correa Pães D'Assumpção, Macau

Some rather sad looking shots of the Year of the Tiger decorations on Rotunda Dr. Carlos A. Correa Pães D'Assumpção on Taipa. This is the morning after the fireworks and the previous evening's goings-on with Da Mata and Cindy. In the background is the former (now closed) Hotel Casino New Century. The bust that can be seen (in image 1 on the right) is of the good Dr Carlos Augusto Corrêa Paes d'Assumpção himself, a famous local lawyer and politician.

The Last Time I Saw Macao - João Rui Guerra da Mata (2012) - Sam Po Temple, Taipa

Another brief shot - this film is full of them, and as a result the number of posts for it will probably be quite high - but included for completeness.

I have been remiss and forgot to mention that most of the more obscure locations for this film have been courtesy of Mamiko Oka on FLICKR, who has been a great help in taking much of the hassle out of finding the locations. So a big shout out to them. Please visit their FLICKR page for this film.

Anyway, this ornate wall decoration (actually, very common in temples in Hong Kong as well) belongs to the Sam Po Temple on Taipa. The temple is located directly opposite the Fabrica de Panchoes Iec Long.

The Last Time I Saw Macao - João Rui Guerra da Mata (2012) - Fabrica de Panchoes Iec Long, Taipa

The next film on my list is a Portuguese arthouse film made by João Pedro Rodrigues and João Rui Guerra da Mata in 2012. A Última Vez Que Vi Macau (Eng: The Last Time I Saw Macao) centres on an unseen protagonist whi is retruning to his childhood home (Macau) from Portugal to help out a friend who is in trouble with some shady characters. The majority of the film uses footage that is really more documentary-like in the way it has been filmed, with a plot narration by the central character (called Guerra da Mata - hence why I have put that director's name in the main title of the post, I assume it was him providing the narration and physical presence) as he negotiates his way around his old, but now unfamiliar, childhood home in search of his friend. The protagonists and antagonists are only ever seen from the waist down, if at all, and much of the plot moves forward through the narration and an overlaid soundtrack of other characters. I suspect, although can't confirm, that some of the onscreen characters that do appear, had no idea they were being filmed but were incorporated into the plot via the overlaid dialogue/soundtrack.

The film begins in the middle of a wargame as a bunch of kids are running around a derelict site shooting BB pellets at each other, only for one of them to be killed by a real gun. This is the incident that sparks da Matas friend, Candy, to send him an email asking him to come to Macau.

The wargame scene was shot inside the walls of the Fabrica de Panchoes Iec Long in Taipa. In some shots you can see the old concrete protectve walls that stood between the various buildings (I assume they were there to limit to damage of any explosions that may occur during the firecracker production process. You can see some of the buildings featured in the screencaps below on João Botas' excellent Macau Antigo blog.