A PHOTOGRAPHY PASSION PROJECT
The Study and Recreation of Maggie Cheung Movie Looks: Su Li-zhen
「本來我也這麼想，所以不怕別人説什麼。我相信自己不會跟他們一樣， 可是原來我會。」
"That's what I had originally thought as well, so I wasn't worried about what other's would say. I believed I wouldn't be like them,
but turns out I would."
花樣年華
IN THE MOOD
FOR LOVE
項目背後的原因
The Reason Behind this Project
張曼玉是一位主要活躍於1980年代至2000年代的著名女演員。在她的演藝生涯中，她塑造了許多標誌性的女性角色。直到今天，許多人仍然可以通過服裝或髮型認出她扮演過的角色，這也是為什麼她被選為這個項目的人物。我希望能夠結合我學到的電影知識和攝影這個愛好喜好創作一個屬於自己的攝影項目，並準確地刻畫出電影《花樣年華》中張曼玉的形象。 由於這個項目主要關注張曼玉和她的角色，我覺得沒有男主角在場的情況下單獨重現她的角色會更合適，因為這樣更容易將觀眾的注意力帶入她的內心世界。
Maggie Cheung is a famous actress who was primarily active during the 1980’s to 2000’s, and throughout her acting career, she had portrayed many iconic female characters that many still recognise just from outfits or hairstyles till this day, which is why she was chosen to be the main focus of this study. In hopes of combining my identity as a film student and my hobby of photography, I wanted to create my own personal passion project in hopes to accurately portray the looks of Maggie Cheung from the movie In the Mood for Love. With the main focus of this project being on Maggie and her characters, I felt that it would have been more appropriate to recreate her characters alone without the presence of the male protagonist, as it would be easier to bring the audience's attention into her inner world.
-第一話-
-Episode One-
起 // THE EXPOSITION
這次拍攝最重要的肯定是服裝，也就是她的旗袍。 據透露，在《花樣年華》整部電影中，張曼玉至少身穿21件不同的旗袍，而每件旗袍都準確地刻畫了她的情緒狀態，同時也起到了敘事的作用。 幸運的是，我找到了一家旗袍出租店，出租的旗袍設計與電影中穿的旗袍非常相似。在有限的選擇中，我選擇了這件藍色底紅色印花的旗袍 ，而在電影中這件旗袍本身也扮演著重要的角色。
The most important aspect of for this shoot would definitely be nailing the outfit, which would be her Qipao. It has been revealed that throughout the whole movie of In the Mood for Love, Maggie was seen in at least 21 different Qipaos, with each outfit accurately portraying her emotional state and also at the same time help with story telling. I was lucky enough to have found a Qipao rental shop that rented out Qipaos with very similar designs to the ones that were worn in the film, and from the handful of choices I could have made, I decided on this blue Qipao with red floral prints, which actually this particular Qipao in itself plays a significant role in the film as well.
拍攝的第一部分是在中環孫中山紀念館進行的。 我選擇在這個位置的原因是因為我覺得它可以作為一個很好的開始。 簡單的背景將焦點帶回到模特兒身上，讓注意力集中在她的服裝、髮型、配飾和鞋子等的美術指導上。除了指導模特兒擺出適合這個項目的姿勢外，我還想嘗試模仿電影本身的特定鏡頭，作為對原著的一種敬意。
This first part of the shoot was located at The Dr Sun Yat-sen Museum at Central. The reason I chose to include this location was because I felt that it would have served as a good introductory start to this project. The simple background brings the focus back onto the model, and allows for the attention to be on the artistic choices like her outfits, hairstyle, accessories, and shoes, On top of guiding the model for poses that felt fit for this project, I also wanted to try and recreate specific shots from the film itself and have them serve as an homage to the film.
「沒關係 他過兩天會再去日本 我叫他多帶一個回來。」
"It's no problem, he will be traveling to Japan in a few days, I'll have him bring one more back."
頭髮、珠寶、配飾、鞋子等其他方面也下了很多功夫，以確保我們能夠將蘇麗珍這個角色塑造得準確，讓她重獲新生。 我們需要確保她的頭髮梳得恰到好處，蓬鬆得像電影中蘇麗珍的髮型。 我們還決定戴更大更奢華的珍珠耳環，因為這類耳環在電影中也戴得最多，還有玉戒指、復古金表、簡單的黑色高跟鞋，和蘇麗珍隨身攜帶很相似的皮包。
A lot of effort was also put into other aspects like her hair, jewellery, accessories, and shoes in order to make sure that we can fully portray her character and bring Su Li-zhen to life again. We needed to make sure that her hair was done up the right way and was poofy enough that it resembled Su Li-zhen's hair from the film. We also decided on having larger more extravagant pearl earrings, as those were also worn the most in the film, along with a jade ring, a vintage gold watch, simple black heels, and a leather handbag similar to what Su Li-zhen carried around.
-第二話-
-Episode Two-
華而不實 // PRETTY ON THE OUTSIDE
這個拍攝的地點是出乎意料的。本來打算在另一個博物館拍攝，卻發現原來它沒有開館，但隨後遇到了一個種滿植物的斜坡，正好可代替我原本選擇的場景，所以我們沿著翠綠的植物走上斜坡和樓梯，拍攝更多不同的照片令攝影集看起來更多元化。
This location came up by surprise. Originally, we were going to shoot at another museum. It turns out that it wasn't opened, but we then came across a slope with a lot of greenery and I felt that this would have been a great addition to the set, so we took some shots along the slope and those stairs for more variety and to have a more dynamic set.
在這個拍攝地點中，我們試圖傳達她孤獨和空虛的情緒。 在電影中，我們發現丈夫經常出差，而蘇麗珍經常一個人在家。 我們希望這部分拍攝的重點是說明她對丈夫回來的期待，她如何不得不獨自走在街上打發時間，外表看起來漂亮精緻，但內心卻感到不滿足 ，空虛，孤獨。
For this location in particular, we tried to convey her loneliness and empty emotions. At this point of the film, we realise that her husband is constantly out on business trips, and Su Li-zhen is often left alone at home. We wanted the focus for this part of the shoot to be on the anticipation she feels for the return of her husband, and how she has to kill time walking on the streets on her own looking pretty and sophisticated on the outside, while on the inside she's feeling unsatisfied, empty, and lonely.
-第三話-
-Episode Three-
麵檔 // THE NOODLE STAND
在電影中的這一部分，我們注意到蘇麗珍經常光顧附近的麵檔，而這背後的原因是因為丈夫長時間不在港，她已沒有必要自己一個人做飯。 然而，由於經常光顧麵檔，她也不知覺增加了撞見周慕雲的機會，因為周慕雲的妻子也經常出門在外或工作繁忙，所以這兩個孤獨的靈魂從彼此短暫的陪伴中找到安慰，這就是為什麼我想把這部電影這部分加入我的攝影集，因為它標誌著一段注定要結束，苦樂參半的關係的重要開始。
At this part of the film, we notice Su Li-zhen's frequent visits to the noodle stand nearby, and the reason behind that would be because she sees no point in cooking dinner for one person anyway as her husband is often on business trips leaving her at home alone. However, because of these frequent visits to the noodle stand, she ends up coincidentally bumping into Chow Mo-wan more often too as his wife is also often out of town or busy from work. These two lonely souls find comfort from each other's temporary company, which is why I wanted to include this part of the film into my set, as it marks an important beginning to a bittersweet relationship that is bound to end.
「對了 最近很少見到你老公」
"Oh yes, I haven't seen your husband in awhile."
「是啊 這陣子他工作有事 派了他出去」
"Yes, his company sent him onto a business trip."
「怪不得經常在麵檔碰到你」
"No wonder I always bump into you at the noodle stand."
-第四話-
-Episode Four-
試探 // BACK AND FORTH
整部電影其中最重要的一幕就是蘇麗珍和周慕雲在餐廳見面，話題圍繞著他們的配偶，來來回回地交談，試探對方知道多少，或者是否已經意識到他們的配偶已經出軌。作為電影中如此重要的一幕，她在這一幕中穿的旗袍也是我決定選擇這件旗袍的主要原因之一，因為它是一件非常具有標誌性和辨識度的旗袍，所以我也想選擇一件對敘事有重要意義的旗袍。
Probably the most important scene from this whole film, this was when Su Li-zhen and Chow Mo-wan meet up at a restaurant and have a back and forth conversation about their spouses, and testing the waters to see how much the other person knows, or whether or not they've already realised that their spouses are cheating on them with each other. Being such an important scene from the film, the Qipao she wore from this scene was also one of the main reasons as to why I decided to choose this Qipao design for our shoot, because it is a very iconic and recognisable Qipao, and I wanted to choose a Qipao that had significant meaning to the story as well.
「妳今天下午拿著的皮包 不知道在哪裡有賣的？」
"The handbag you were holding this afternoon, I wonder where it is sold?"
「你為什麼這樣問？」
"Why is it that you ask?"
「我看款式很別緻 想買一個送給我太太」
"I liked the design of it, I want to buy one for my wife."
「其實...」
"Actually..."
「我先生也有條領帶 跟你那一摸一樣的 他說是他老闆送給他的 所以天天戴著」
"My husband has the same tie as yours. He said he boss gifted it to him, so he wears it everyday."
「我太太也有個皮包 跟你那一摸一樣」
"My wife also has the exact same handbag as yours."
「我知道，我見過。你想說什麼？」
"I know, I've seen it. What are you trying to say?"
「我還以為只有我一個人知道」
"I thought I was the only one that knew."
「不知道他們是怎樣開始的呢？」
"I wonder how they started?"
-第五話-
-Episode Five-
試戲 // REHERSALS
經過痛徹心扉的覺醒後，為了更了解情況，蘇麗珍和周慕雲決定把他們認為配偶如何在一起，如何秘密約會和偷情的情節一一模仿。 隨著他們進行越來越多的排練，開始玩火，慢慢地但意料之中地，他們最終愛上了對方。
After the harsh realisation, in hopes of understanding the situation a bit more, Su Li-zhen and Chow Mo-wan decides to act out how they think their spouses got together, and how they would go on secret dates and affairs. As their "rehearsals" become more frequent, they start playing with fire and slowly but surely they end up falling for each other as well.
他們許多約會都是在夜間和空蕩蕩的小巷裡進行的，這就是為什麼我也選擇在晚上空蕩蕩的街道上拍攝這一部分，以準確地刻畫他們此時必定在經歷的矛盾。
A lot of their meet ups were during the night time and at empty alleyways, which is why I chose to shoot this portion at an empty street at night as well, to accurately portray and intimacy and the secrecy they must have experienced at this point.
電影的中段也是兩位主角更加親密的段落，很多最具標誌性的鏡頭都來自電影的這部分，所以我想把最有辨識度的鏡頭也重現出來，表現他們正在經歷耗費感情的糾葛。
This portion of the movie is also where the two protagonists get more intimate and passionate with each other, and a lot of the most iconic shots were from this part of the film, so I wanted to recreate the most recognisable shots as well, showing the emotionally draining entanglement that they're experiencing.
意識到自己做了伴侶曾經傷害過自己的事情，蘇麗珍和周慕雲醒覺事情不應該再這樣發展下去了，決定和對方結束這段關係。 然而，隨著不斷的演戲和排練，很難說出他們決定要分手的點究竟是在哪一刻，所以我決定在街頭重現他們分手的場景，讓他們在曾經最親密的地方結束這段感情。
With the realization that they've done the very thing that they were once hurt by, Su Li-zhen and Chow Mo-wan realise that this is no longer the way things should be and decide to end things with each other. However, with the constant acting and rehearsals, it is hard to tell which exact point was their breaking point, so I decided to recreate their breakup scene on the streets, to have them end their relationship where they once had the most passion at.
-第六話-
-Episode Six-
不存在的結局 // THE NON-EXISTENT ENDING
正如電影中所見，結局也許不是觀眾希望他們擁有的幸福結局，這就是為什麼我決定創造自己版本的結局。蘇麗珍終於決定，跟他一起乘船離開。不管那張票是他留下的還是她自己帶來的，也不管這是否真的是他們最好的選擇，我相信這是蘇麗珍和周慕雲當時都希望發生的結局。
As seen in the movie, their ending was not the happily ever after ending that many would wish for them to have, which is why I decided to create my own version of their ending. Su Li-zhen finally decides that she would take the boat and leave with him. Regardless of whether or not the ticket was left by him or brought by herself, and regardless of whether or not this would realistically be the best ending for them, I believe that this was the ending they both hoped could have happen.
「如果有多一張船票，妳，會不會跟我走？ 」
"If I had an extra ticket, would you come with me?"
「如果還有一張船票，你，會不會帶我走？ 」
"If there were an extra ticket, would you take me with you?"
從頭到尾負責整個項目，從最小的細節，比如翡翠戒指應該戴在哪個手指上，到實際的安排，比如哪個拍攝日期較為適合，和計算旗袍租借和道具發貨的時間，這一切對我來說絕對是一個大挑戰。 然而，看著現在的最終的相片，我為我的成就感到自豪。從這些照片中，如果能令你留下好印象，我會感到非常自豪！
Being in charge of the whole project from beginning to the end, from the tiniest details like which finger should the jade ring be worn on, to organising practical things like which shooting day would best match all of our schedules including ehe Qipao rental shop and when the props would be shipped, was was definitely a huge challenge for me. However, looking at the end product now, I can say that I'm proud of what I was able to achieve. And to whoever is still reading this, I would also be so very proud if I were able to impress you in the slightest as well!
非常感謝你還在這裡！
Thank you so much for still being here!
如果你有空閒時間，也許可以看看這個項目的另一半
《甜蜜蜜》? (:
And if you have some time to spare, maybe check out the other half of the project on the film
Comrades: Almost a Love Story? (:
@rrachelso