Highlights

• This dissertation is on the chase scenes in Hong Kong action films, which are featured with characters’ full-speed running, minimum dialogue, a considerable amount of cityscape passing by in the background and a dizzying visual impression.
• This dissertation proposes that running is a transgressive act, by which the protagonists not only find an exit in the city of crisis but also develop a new rhythm bodily and deconstruct the oppressive urban space.

• Meanwhile, what would be the aesthetic style and its cultural ideology of rhythmic running? What kind of extraordinary viewing experience would the audience have with the interactions between bodily gestures and urban space? What are the differences between running and other movements, between the filmic representations and real life?
• These are the questions to be answered along with the close reading on the chase scenes from City on Fire (1987), a typical undercover cop film, and Hand Rolled Cigarette (2020), a post-2019 local production.

• As these chase scenes serve as examples of undoing the space, finally this dissertation elaborates on how topological films of Hong Kong provide us with another possible perspective to explore the urban space and carry out spatial practices.

As these chase scenes serve as examples of undoing the space, finally this dissertation elaborates on how topological films of Hong Kong provide us with another possible perspective to explore the urban space and carry out spatial practices.

Li Zhuoyue Zowie

Experience at MALCS

I have been a big fan of Hong Kong cinema for as long as I can remember, and this passion was one of the many factors that led me to MALCS. When I learned about the capstone project, I didn’t hesitate to delve into the interplay between urban space and Hong Kong cinema. This endeavour would not have been possible without the lectures I attended throughout the program and, more importantly, the invaluable discussions with brilliant professors and classmates, with whom I never felt emotionally or intellectually alone. Completing this capstone project and earning this degree, I am more able to be committed to what I love, including film, literature, and this world as a whole as well.