Watches
December 14, 2020
The Shaw Bros are best known for their vast library of martial arts films. Delve deeper and you'll find some other genre films too, mostly crossing over in the horror genre. If you peel away another layer and go all the way back to the studio's roots though, you'll discover they started out serving a way broader array of genres.
During the Japanese occupation of China, Tang Qi and Xing Ya fall in love with each other. Their families are opposed to them being together, but their affection runs deeps, and they vow to continue seeing other behind people's backs. It's certainly not the most original setup, but it's certainly good enough for a tragic romance.
The lush colors and polished cinematography are definitely a plus here, performances are not on the same level and the film can get quite melodramatic. Some musical bits and a random war scene at the end don't really add much to the film either. It's not all bad though, definitely interested to see where the second part will go from here.