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Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Visiting Fremantle Beach, An Unexpectedly Romantic Place.

Can't write much, I'm in the midst of a Stanley Kubrick marathon (just watched A Clockwork Orange, currently watching Barry Lyndon while typing out this post) as the professor of my Advanced Screen Production unit said last week that referencing his films would be useful when directing my own Girl Disconnected. (Yes, surprisingly, I haven't seen a single Kubrick film before, except for three quarters of Eyes Wide Shut few weeks ago on television)

Therefore, I'll be posting photos of Fremantle beach that I took on the 9th of October, when I was doing my location hunting. A nice-looking beach was crucial for my film, and I wrote my script with the Fremantle beach in mind after visiting it for the very first time few months ago (check out the video here, I went there with Justin and a bunch of cute Japanese girls... and guy, from Himeji, Japan).

Why a beach? I didn't grow up living near a beach, and besides some vague memories of my childhood when I last visited Penang (I couldn't be more than six), or seeing it from inside a car on the way to Singapore, I don't think I've ever actually been to a beach all my years until I came to Perth. Beach activies like, ah, playing with water, playing beach volleyball, swimming, sunbathing, etc etc. were things I've watched on television or read in books, but would never really bothered trying in real life. (getting sand in my shoes? Truly an annoyance!)



Yet Maya, the heroine of my short film is in love with the beach. There's this beach which is her 'secret place tucked away from civilization, from the bustling streets and the smelly black smoke that come out from chimneys'. And therefore, to ensure that I can truly understand my own fictional creation's love for, well, the beach, I chose to hang around as I surveyed the Fremantle beach, to wait as the sun is setting so that I can see its golden light reflecting upon the sea, to witness that magical glittering effect myself just so that I can know why people who love being at the beach just love being at the beach.

It took me quite a while to find the beach as I attempted to retrace the route that I took few months ago with those Japanese visitors, only to find out later, to my consternation, that the beach was just behind, well, that McDonald's in Fremantle, an area I frequently visit. (I don't go to McDonald's, but the restaurant opposite it, Cicerello, said to have the best Fish & Chips in Australia, great place for seafood, really).

Unfortunately for me, I didn't bring my camera with me (... again), so I could only take low resolution photos with my trusty mobile phone. However, you can click the photos for a larger version.

Fremantle Beach 3

Woman Jogging With Dog at Fremantle Beach


Later in the day, I sat at the beach, reading Ian McEwan's Saturday, waiting for the sun to set, and that was when I took the second photo above. It was relaxing, and beautiful, and no, the photos I took couldn't do it justice. But before that, I was curious to see what the entire scenery was like, thus I made my way up the top of the Fremantle Round House, the oldest remaining building in Western Australia.

Once a prison, the top of the Round House was the only place where I could get a clear view of things. When I was there, I saw a couple seated, engaged in a conversation.

Couple chatting on top of Fremantle roundhouse

But they weren't the ones who caught my attention. I saw an elderly couple up there as well, doing nothing but watching the scenery in silence. They would speak softly to each other in Japanese, yet their gaze remained fixated upon the scenery sprawled below. Nothing around them mattered. It was a pretty peaceful sight. And kinda romantic too.

Elderly Japanese couple watching the scenery

I tried to take a photo of them (without their knowledge, of course), unfortunately, as you can see above, I happened to cast my shadow over the woman. (my photography skills sucked.)

And what were they watching?

Here you go:

Fremantle Beach 1