The First Time Is the Last Time (1989)
Reviewed by: jfierro on 1999-12-21
Grim, gritty prison flick - is there any other kind? In this one,a naive young girl spends six months in prison for the man she loves. Fortunately, she is guided through the brutal day-to-day life by a wisened repeat offender (Lam Kin-Ming), and is protected from the prison bullies by a crazy, fearless lifer (Carrie Ng). Through a series of flashbacks, we learn how Carrie went from a beatiful young woman, to a scarred, no-nonsense prisoner. Most of the characters are typical of what you find in every prison movie, so it is up to Carrie to give the movie its weight. And, as always, she doesn't disappoint, giving a brave and powerful performance that rightfully earned a best actress nomination. Director Raymond Leung uses harsh lighting and little makeup on his actresses to emphasize the ugliness that is prison life. While the ending is predicatable and a little over-the-top, the strong direction and emotional performance by Carrie Ng more than make up for it.