You are currently displaying Big5
黃色故事 (1987)
The Game They Call Sex


Reviewed by: STSH
Date: 08/23/2000

Dull and disappointing. Maggie Cheung's first major dramatic vehicle has occasional dramatic moments, and Maggie does a reasonable job at the straight (i.e. non-comedy) role. But the narrative is too disjointed, and nothing much happens.

Reviewer Score: 2

Reviewed by: morgold
Date: 08/14/2000

An occassionally tender yet at times stupefyingly crude attempt at a feminist film. Maggie Cheung, in three chaptered segments, suffers through an arranged marriage and a bad marriage, and becomes reborn through a possibly liberating divorce. Very basic feminist themes are underlined with howlingly obvious symbolism-- phallic knives, ticking (biological) clocks, and the worst dream sequences you are likely to see. What is surprising is that co-director Sylvia Chang had already made the far more sophisticated "Passion" the year before; certainly, this is a huge step backwards. Film was screened at a retrospective of female Taiwanese directors in New York, August 2000.


Reviewed by: hkcinema
Date: 12/08/1999

Rapid yet sensitive film in three parts, made by three differentdirectors and in three different styles. It focuses on the turbulent life of Chu Hsiao-min (the first serious role for well-known actress Maggie Cheung) and her growth from girl to woman. She is the youngest daughter in a family, has an elder daughter and is basically too young for love. It is however clear that she is attracted to a certain kind of man, such as Yo, a cheeky rascal on a motorbike. After secondary school, she marries Liu, who is basically a stranger to her. He smokes in bed, plays video games and is insensitive to her needs. The marriage soon turns out to be a mistake and when one day there is a burglary and Hsiao-min is threatened by the burglar, her fantasy about this 'real' man takes over. In the presence of her husband, she gives the burglar an alibi when he is accused by the police of being involved in a fight to the death. It means the end of her marriage. Hsiao-min decides to tackle things differently from now on.

[Reviewed by Anonymous]