Chan Is Missing - Mr. Fong
Jo has had his money returned but is still curious as to the whereabouts of Chan. He decides to ask his friend Mr. Fong (Leong Pui Chee). For this scene director Wang chose to have them speak in Chinese so that his American audience could experience the lilt and cadence of the Cantonese accent.
Then … They meet at Brenham Place bordering the west side of Portsmouth Square between Clay and Washington.
… and Now, in 1985 Brenham Place was renamed Walter U Lum Place in recognition of the Chinese American civil rights advocate born in San Francisco in 1882. The plaza was redesigned in the 1990s but the view from here retains a similar look today.
Then … Mr. Fong doesn’t know where Chan is. He tells Jo he has just given a talk at the Chinese Cultural Center on, appropriately, Chinese culture. He explains there’s more to it than eating. There’s north versus south, there’s ancient versus modern. He gives examples in poetry and in opera, breaking out into stanza and song to illustrate the differences. The building behind him is the Chinese Congregational Church at 21 Brenham Place.
… and Now, the church is still there, captured in this recent photo that also captured a rare sight for Chinatown - a destitute street person.
Mr. Fong also shares a Chinese lantern riddle which Jo recounts afterwards to Steve while they are parked at the edge of the bay. They have a good laugh at its sexual connotation. Lantern riddles date back 1200 years to the Song Dynasty; they were written on the sides of lanterns at Chinese Lantern Festivals where participants were rewarded for correctly solving them.
Then … They are parked at Fort Point in the Presidio below the Golden Gate bridge (map).
… and Now, the only change today is a more mundane, but safer replacement in 2023 of the chain barrier alongside the water’s edge causing some consternation amongst regular visitors, CitySleuth amongst them, who preferred the prior maritime look.
… in 1958 … but there was an even more mundane barrier there when Scottie followed Madeleine to Fort Point 66 years ago in the movie Vertigo.
Rippling waves in the bay mirror Jo’s thoughts; the mystery is appropriately Chinese - what’s not there seems to have just as much meaning as what is there. Nothing is what it seems to be. He questions his Chinese-ness; he can’t accept a mystery without a solution.
Then … Back once again at Chester’s Cafe at 1269 Mason (described earlier) Jo nurses a beer, lost in thought. Across the street on the left is the Junior Co Bakery at 1250 Mason.
… and Now, the most recent tenant in the 1250 Mason space was an art gallery, Orangeland .