La Moustache - Vincent Lindon (2005) - Sai Kung Public Pier, Sai Kung

Our final post for this film takes us to Sai Kung proper and the original public pier - a very familiar location for me after spending several years heading here at the weekends to join a diving trip or two. This is the pier where the "casino" boat is located and where the last portion of the film plays out with Marc seemingly reunited with his wife.

La Moustache - Vincent Lindon (2005) - Ko Lau Wan, Sai Kung Country Park

The boat that Marc catches a lift from takes him to some unknown small village by the sea and the various reviews/descriptions I have read of the film have described it as either Macau or Bali. This is because the seaside isn't usually something you associate with Hong Kong despite the fact that the territory is an archipelago of several hundred islands, most of which are uninhabited. Anyway, the real location used in the film was neither Macau nor Bali but in fact Ko Lau Wan in the far reaches of the north eastern New Territories.

Believe it or not this part of Sai Kung Country Park actually falls under the administrative care of Tai Po District - a fact largely centered on the historical anomaly that Tai Po was the most convenient market town for the inhabitants of this area to reach (and this is why the Sai Kung North Rural Affairs Committee building is also in Tai Po Market and not Sai Kung).

Anyway, I digress. Marc finds a small hotel and basically sticks around until his moustache grows back. By which time the film starts to get a bit confusing and it's hard to know if what we are watching is supposed to be real or part of his imagination. I think the ambiguity might be the point.

La Moustache - Vincent Lindon (2005) - Kwun Tong Waterfront, Kwun Tong

Marc ends up spending so much time going backwards and forwards on the ferry that he eventually runs out of time and when he tries to get back across the harbour he finds that the pier has closed. So he wanders off to try a get a lift from one of the boats moored by the waterfront. This next scene, where he finds a boat and gets the deck hand to let him on board, was filmed along the Kwun Tong waterfront. You wouldn't recognise it now though because much effort and money was expended in turning this place into a public park called the "Kwun Tong Promenade". The only thing you will recognise today is the Kwun Tong bypass which you can see in the background of the screen capture.

La Moustache - Vincent Lindon (2005) - The Intercontinental Hotel, Tsim Sha Tsui

It looks like Marc is staying at the Intercontinental Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui. The angle on the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (New Wing) on the opposite side of the harbour is a dead giveaway but the film also acknowledges the hotel in its credits. As of writing the IC is undergoing a renovation and I believe is about to be renamed back to its original name - The Regent Hotel - courtesy of the IC group taking a majority shareholding in the Regent Hotel Group.

La Moustache - Vincent Lindon (2005) - Nathan Road, Kowloon

On another of Marc's walkabouts, we see him crossing Nathan Road at the large crossing next to the junction with Haiphong Road. I'm fairly certain the Superstar Seafood Restaurant has long gone, but I think the Zurich Watch Company is still in the same location today.

La Moustache - Vincent Lindon (2005) - Central Walkways, Hong Kong

 In between ferry trips, Marc also wanders the streets and one of these scenes sees him walking along the walkway in front of Exchange Square. In the images below the camera is placed on the walkway connecting Exchange Square with Worldwide House looking west along Connaught Road.

La Moustache - Vincent Lindon (2005) - Star Ferry Piers

On arriving in Hong Kong, Marc finds almost immediate solace by travelling to and fro of the Star Ferry and there is probably a ten minute sequence in the film that features him walking in and out of ferries on both sides of the harbour as he fishes for change to give to the lady in the booth. It's possible that this was one of the last films shot in the old Central Star Ferry Pier before it was unceremoniously demolished in 2006. Remember that the old art deco style clock on the pier was supposed to be saved but was then sneakily destroyed and dumped when no one was watching. Anyway, the following screencaps capture the piers at both sides of the TST <> Central route as well as the "Solar Star" ferry. Apparently, the ferry started service in 1958 making it one of the longest serving in the current fleet.

La Moustache - Vincent Lindon (2005) - Tai Kok Tsui Elevated Road, Kowloon

Back to my mainstay of foreign/overseas film productions now and I have managed to grab hold of a copy of the 2005 French film, La Moustache. The story revolves around the seemingly psychological fallout from a guy, Marc (Vincent Lindon), deciding to shave off his signature moustache. All things are not as they seem and it's one of those films where you no longer know what is supposed to be real and what isn't.

Anyway, after shaving off his moustache and spending some time in is native Paris seemingly going mad, Marc heads to the airport to escape being committed and buys a ticket for the next available flight, which happens to be to Hong Kong.

Cue our opening Hong Kong-based shots as Marc sits in cab, apparently on his way downtown from the airport. However, this first sequence is a car-shot one filmed driving north along the elevated highway that runs above Tai Kok Tsui Road.

The shot opens on the Tai Kok Tsui HSBC building (top image), which has subsequently been obscured by the newly built "Floriant Rise" development. The following screen captures show the view - looking west from the flyover - along Ka Shin Street (Skyway House at the far end), Fuk Chak Street, Li Tak Street and finally Ivy Street with the McDonalds in the foreground.