The Mole Song: Hong Kong Capriccio - Toma Ikuta (2016) - Harbour Grand Kowloon, Hung Hom

Despite the action all going on over in Central, the scene with all the cop cars supposedly arriving at the base of the IFC2 was actually filmed over in Kowloon at the Harbour Grand Hotel.

The Mole Song: Hong Kong Capriccio - Toma Ikuta (2016) - International Finance Centre 2, Central

So the slave auction is supposedly taking place inside the IFC2 skyscraper. And yet, weirdly, when a hole is blown in the side of the building so that they can all make their escape via parachutes (sounds familiar?) the background clearly shows that they are in a completely different area with the IFC2 building visible in the distance (see last image).

So here is Reiji meant to be looking out from somewhere near the top of the IFC2 getting ready to jump. However, you can see the IFC2 in the background. Actually, the shots used for this special effect can only really have been achieved via drone or helicopter because there are no buildings here that give this same height/elevation view.

The Mole Song: Hong Kong Capriccio - Toma Ikuta (2016) - Reclamation Street, Yau Ma Tei

The ultimate crash location of the plane turns out to be Reclamation Street. The plane has in fact crashed into the ground floor of Kam Shan Dai Lau on the corner of Reclamation/Pak Hoi Streets. This view is looking south down Reclamation Street from about the midway point along this stretch of the road next to the Yau Ma Tei Market building. The building that can just be glimpsed on the far right (with its red stripes) is the Luen Tak Building all the way down on the south side of Jordan Road.

The Mole Song: Hong Kong Capriccio - Toma Ikuta (2016) - Parkes Street, Yau Ma Tei

The next shot we see is a panning shot from the Parkes Street intersection with Nanking Street in Yau Ma Tei. The shot is really just a tracking shot of the (fake) plane as it comes crashing its way through the streets.

The Mole Song: Hong Kong Capriccio - Toma Ikuta (2016) - View from the Peak, Hong Kong

Another Takashi Miike effort for the blog, this time the more recent The Mole Song: Hong Kong Capriccio. It's the sequel to an earlier movie starring Toma Ikuta as an undercover cop, Reiji, who has infiltrated a Yakuza gang. In this film he is given the job of looking after the boss's daughter only to have her kidnapped by a rival gang and whisked away to Hong Kong to be sold as part of a auction.

About two thirds of the film is set in Japan and then after the kidnap the action moves, via a cartoonish plane flight, to Hong Kong. The first shot of Hong Kong is the usual view from the peak, although in this case the wall in the top image is superimposed. If you look closely at the second less obscured view you can just about see the trail of smoke (just to the right of the BoC Tower) from the cartoon plane as it flies out of control towards the harbour.