Four Loves
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Four Loves | ||
---|---|---|
Hanyu Pinyin | Wǎnjūn Biǎomèi | |
Directed by | Li Hsing | |
Screenplay by | Chou Hsu-chiang | |
Based on | Wan-chun's Three Loves by Chiung Yao | |
Produced by | Hu Chien-chung | |
Starring | ||
Cinematography | Lai Cheng-ying | |
Edited by | Shen Yeh-kang | |
Production company | Central Motion Pictures | |
Release date |
| |
Running time | 102 minutes | |
Country | Taiwan | |
Language | Mandarin |
Four Loves is a 1965 Taiwanese film directed by Li Hsing, based on Chiung Yao's 1964 novelette Wan-chun's Three Loves. This was the first ever film based on Chiung Yao's fiction.
Plot
Wan-chun, a nine-year-old orphan, is taken in by the rich landlord Chou family, with the parents intending that Wan-chun marry their eldest son Po-chien when she turns 18. In their youth, the three boys and Wan-chun all refer to each other as "cousins".[1] However, after they have grown up, and before Wan-chun marries, the younger brothers begin to court her as well. Wan-chun is unable to choose from among the brothers, leading to conflict as they all criticise her for her indecision. In the end, they all leave home and pursue careers in Shanghai.[2]
Four Loves and The Silent Wife made alterations to Chiung's original stories, in particular with the addition of political elements such as emphasizing education for the disabled and military service, and in changing the character of Wan-chun from a tongyangxi (child bride) into a cousin.[3][4]
Production
In 1963, the
Themes
Four Loves takes place mostly in the Chou family's affluent residence, with a few exterior shots, mainly at a school on a mountainside which the middle brother attends. Though no scene directly depicts Shanghai, the city plays a large role in the plot, with all three brothers eventually leaving their hometown to work there. James Hicks analysed these three locations as dovetailing with the political themes of the film: the home and the school evoke nostalgia for old Confucian China, while Shanghai (in the time period in which the film was set, still under Kuomintang rule) is portrayed as a site where the followers of Sun Yat-sen's revolutionary ideals could develop China's future.[6]
Reception
Four Loves firmed up CMPC's leading position in Taiwan's film industry, and helped to cement Tang Pao-yun's reputation after her rise to fame in Li's previous film Beautiful Duckling.[7] It was first screened in Singapore in September 1965, and continued to be shown in cinemas as late as the following February.[8] A review by Xiang Xin in the Nanyang Siang Pau praised the childhood scenes in the first half of the film, but criticised it as having far less of a "human touch" than Beautiful Duckling and not featuring the same "outstanding" acting that Tang had previously demonstrated.[9] Another review by Jiang Cun in the same paper praised the visuals, particular the house and the garden scenes, while noting that the tragedy that unfolded in the second half of the film, after the happy childhood scenes, weighed on the audience's emotions in every scene and "didn't even give an opportunity to catch one's breath".[10]
The success of Four Loves and
Cast
- Tang Pao-yun as Hsia Wan-chun
- Tse Ling-ling as Hsia Wan-chun (child)
- Chiang Ming as Chou Po-chien
- Yan Li (嚴禮) as Chou Po-chien (child)
- Wong Yung as Chou Chung-kang
- Yu Chi-kung as Chou Chung-kang (child)
- Feng Hai (馮海) as Chou Shu-hao
- Ba Ge as Chou Shu-hao (child)
- Wei Su as Father Chou
- Fuh Bih-huei as Mother Chou
- Betty Ting Peias Wan-chun's classmate
- Ting Chiang as Teacher Huang
- Pan Chieh-yi (潘潔漪) as She Ma
Awards
1966
- Won—Best Child Star (Tse Ling-ling)
References
- ^ Wicks 2014, p. 28
- ^ Wicks 2014, p. 29
- ^ "Meet the Director: LI Hsing". Taiwan Film Festival Edinburgh. 3 September 2020. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
- ^ a b 楊起鳳 (20 August 2021). "獨/「婉君表妹」被改、與李行鬧不合?瓊瑤親解恩怨真相" [Exclusive: alterations to Four Loves caused quarrel with Li Hsing? Chiung Yao clears up the truth]. United Daily News. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
- ISBN 9780810879225.
- ISBN 9789888208500.
- ^ Lee 2013, pp. 221, 235
- ^ "婉君表妹:金華金都好萊塢今天起三院聯映" [Four Loves: Screenings in three cinemas Jing Hwa, Golden Metropolis, and Hollywood]. Sin Chew Jit Poh. 3 February 1966. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
- ^ 向新 (16 February 1966). "影評:婉君表妹" [Film Review: Four Loves]. Nanyang Siang Pau. p. 15. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
- ^ 江村 (11 March 1966). "影評:婉君表妹" [Film Review: Four Loves]. Nanyang Siang Pau. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
- ^ Lee 2013, pp. 126–127
- ^ a b Lee 2013, p. 126
External links
- Four Loves at IMDb
- Four Loves at the Hong Kong Movie DataBase