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Why French film star Garance Marillier just had to visit Hong Kong’s Chungking Mansions

In town for the Hong Kong French Film Festival, Garance Marillier discusses her ‘must visit’ list and acting with Angelina Jolie in Couture

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Garance Marillier has been called the next big thing in French cinema. On her first visit to Hong Kong, she sat down with the Post to talk about inspirations, upcoming projects and trying to “make the world better”. Photo: Jonathan Wong
Kylie Knott

For first-time visitors to Hong Kong, a tram ride to The Peak or a walk up to Lantau Island’s Tian Tan Buddha are usually on their to-do list.

But Garance Marillier is not your average visitor. The French actress, who was in the city last week for the ongoing 54th Hong Kong French Film Festival (HKFFF), had a different itinerary.

Amid her hectic HKFFF schedule, the 27-year-old squeezed in a visit to Chungking Mansions, a sprawling complex in Hong Kong’s Tsim Sha Tsui neighbourhood known for low-budget accommodation and cheap eats.
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But she was not there for the food. The cultural melting pot with a gritty reputation topped Marillier’s “must-visit” list because of its role in Chungking Express, Wong Kar-wai’s 1994 drama about love and loss that is one of her favourite films.
Faye Wong in a still from Chungking Express (1994). Photo: Jet Tone Production
Faye Wong in a still from Chungking Express (1994). Photo: Jet Tone Production
Several key scenes were shot in and around Chungking Mansions, including the chaotic opening where Takeshi Kaneshiro’s policeman chased a hooded suspect through the heaving ground floor.
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“I love the work of Wong Kar-wai – he is one of my favourite directors,” Marillier says as she sits down with the Post for an interview at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Central.

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