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雨過天青 (1959)
For Better, For Worse


Reviewed by: Stephe
Date: 01/27/2011

In For Better, for Worse, the ordinarily opulent and glamorous
Helen Li Mei, who I'd liked in It's Always Spring, plays a
put-upon wife who is browbeaten by her husband's decadent sister
after her husband loses his job. It is really easy to identify
with Li Mei in this film, although the patience she exhibits
while supporting her husband above and beyond the call of duty is
often heartbreaking and exasperating. The trouble starts soon
after they are married, when the husband's sister, a very
disagreeable woman played by Lau Sin-Mung, refuses to attend the
couple's wedding dinner on the grounds that Li Mei is a widow and
that such a woman brings bad luck to the (extended) family, the
irony being that the only real bad luck brought to the family is
the result of the sister herself, who proceeds to treat Li Mei
and her daughter from her previous marriage (played by Connie
Chan Po-Chu) like dirt. Zhang Yang plays the husband in an even
more earnest and clueless mode than he displayed in Sun, Moon,
Star, as he is egged on by his awful sister. He is a handsome man
but tends to have a streak of unlikeability and a penchant for
ruining the lives of the woman characters he plays off of. Prime
examples being The Wild, Wild Rose and Sun, Moon and Star, both
of which make you want to slap him for very different reasons.
The wonderful Dolly So Fung plays Li Mei's sister, and Tin Ching
plays her fiance -- as he did in Our Sister Hedy -- with a
distinct lack of clowning. Connie Chan Po-Chu, who plays Li Mei's
daughter, is very good. She later went on to become one of the
most popular and prolific stars of Cantonese cinema. I found this
film to be well acted and memorable, and recommend it.

Reviewer Score: 8

Reviewed by: sookjenwong
Date: 09/22/2006
Summary: About family ,about life

Yueh Feng is known for directing films about real-life situations, family, love. For Better, For Worse is about family unity, family love, family relationships. Chang Yang, a seasoned actor plays the husband with a son who marries Li Mei with a daughter, played by a 12 yr. old Chan Po Chu. At such as young age, she is a well -seasoned actress. The movie starts with a lot of character development to illustrate the tightness of the family members until 1 thread breaks them apart. Chang Yang is unable to find work and Li Mei goes and washes clothes. Chang Yang's sister, some mean old lady convinces him that he and his son are better home with her than his own wife. Meanwhile, Da Mei ( Chan Po Chu) cannot accept her mother marrying someone else. With threads breaking apart, it seems the family is breaking down. Li Mei stays strong and the maintain the fort of strength. Through her, the family realizes that they must be together. Li Mei gives an excellent performance as the hard working housewife and good wife and mother. This is a role I never see her in. She is usually a well to do woman in nice Chinese dresses. Chang Yang as usual plays the tormented man with greatness.

The moral of this story, no matter how hard things are, family , if the ties are strong, your heart is strong, love is strong.

Reviewer Score: 8