More Than Kung Fu

Yueh Feng may be Shaw Brothers’ most underrated director. Reams of paper are sacrificed to Chang Cheh and King Hu; but how many words are written about Yueh Feng? Very few—at least in the West—where Yueh’s subtle mastery is overlooked for Shaw’s flashier directors.

Yueh’s subtlety may be his biggest liability. You could watch all of Younger Generation without noticing any of Yueh’s criticisms of or disdain for the film’s main characters. And if you miss that, then the film is little more than another absurdly overblown wenyi soap opera.

The plot certainly sounds over-dramatic — after eloping, newlyweds Mei Shuqing (Ivy Ling Po) and Jiang Shaowen (Yang Fang), start a new life in a small farming village. Jiang teaches school while Mei raises the five kids they have in quick succession. But overwork cripples Jiang’s health, forcing him to work in a quarry. Mei helps out by working as a tailor, but she’s crushed by the burdens of raising her family and making ends meet.

Throw in the random deaths and sudden illnesses that are required in wenyi films and you’ve got yourself quite a tearjerker.

Or maybe you’ve got an elaborate revenge fantasy wrapped up in a social critique.

Yueh takes pains to overplay Mei and Jiang’s love story. They live in a romantic idyll where—and I’m not making this up—families dance around trees while holding hands and singing songs. The only sour notes in this utopia are the rare references to the parents that Mei and Jiang left behind when they eloped. It’s never overt, but you can almost see Yueh off camera nudging the characters, “Maybe you should call your mom, let her see her grandkids.”

Yueh takes great pleasure in crushing Mei and Jiang, turning their elaborate fall from the heights of romance into a critique of those who abandon their families for personal gain. Only by having the support that a family provides can young couples survive the pitfalls in their path.

Yueh knew all about pitfalls. His lengthy career was marred by criticism that he collaborated with the Japanese during their occupation of Shanghai. But he kept on working, turning out films that paid tribute to Chinese tradition. He was rarely splashy, but in films like Younger Generation and Bells of Death, he exhibits the skills that made him one of Shaw’s best.

The Younger Generation
Dir: Yueh Feng
Released: March 12, 1970