Wong Tin Lam's The Wild, Wild Rose

Banners near the Hong Kong Film Archive
for the on-going Wong Tin Lam retrospective

Lest people think otherwise: Despite my job requiring me to do quite a bit of film viewing (and reviewing), the fact of the matter is that I've not given up on movie-going as a fun extra-curricular activity. Thus, this past weekend saw me head over to the Hong Kong Film Archive in Sai Wan Ho to catch a screening of The Wild, Wild Rose (1960) that was among the offerings of Entertainer: The Art of Wong Tin Lam (a film series that -- gripe, gripe -- would be so much cooler if only more of the featured offerings were shown with English subtitles).

In any event, and for those who are unfamiliar with this Hong Kong movie: The Wild, Wild Rose is a Cathay (aka MP&GI) film classic, one of many directed by Wong Tin Lam -- the 80-year-old father of Wong Jing who contemporary Hong Kong movie fans tend to best know as a frequent Milkyway Image character actor (cf. The Mission, Election 1 and 2) even though he officially retired some eight years ago.

It also happens to be superb showcase for singer-dancer-actress Grace Chang (aka Ge Lan) who may be a middle-aged Society matron these days but, back in the 1950s and 1960s, was one heck of a sizzling as well as major movie diva. For although its melodramatic components have not aged well, those sections of this film which place the spotlight squarely on Grace Chang the entertainer have most definitely stood the test of time.

After watching another of Grace Chang's signature movies, The Mambo Girl (1957), Brian (of HK Cinema: View from the Brooklyn Bridge, Subway Cinema, and Asian Cinema -- While On the Road) commented that:

I had previously seen pictures of Grace Chang – interesting face – sort of flat with a flared nose and a mouthful of teeth and a wide smile – but I would not have called her beautiful by any means. That’s because a still photo can’t begin to capture her immense charm, her myriad of lively expressions and her remarkably playful eyes that can enchant you one minute and devastate you the next. This is her film - she owns nearly every minute of it - and she creates a heartwarming portrait of youthful innocence that is astonishingly simple and yet completely captivating.

Well, as I told him in an e-mail written this past weekend, if only he could see Grace Chang on a big screen. Because even I, who previously had not been all that enamored by her when viewing her on a small screen (and this includes a viewing of Mambo Girl) was charmed, if not outright smitten post being privileged to have seen her visage projected onto a silver screen.

For that matter, so too was everyone in the Hong Kong Film Archive's cinema. As evidence: Whereas a lot of the viewers -- who tend to be chattier as well as significantly older than your average Hong Kong movie audience -- were prone to treat a lot of the rest of the movie like they were at a Chinese opera performance (in other words: they would pass comments among themselves about this and that that caught their attention!), every time Grace Chang appeared on screen, the whole cinema would get all hushed and fall noticeably silent.

All in all, it's been a while since I was among a movie audience that looked to love a film star so; with not only men openly lusting after her but also women appearing to wish they could be her -- or, at least, wishing that they could enthrall and capture men's hearts the way she could and did. To say the least, it really was quite the brilliant experience; and yet another memorable Hong Kong moment to savor for some time to come... :)