Archive for August, 2006
The Story of Sue San
As a director, King Hu will be remembered mostly for his swordplay films — Come Drink With Me, Dragon Inn, Touch Of Zen; he did more than make classics of the genre, he helped to define the vocabulary and rules that would be used by hundreds of films.
Bu Hu didn’t start his career with wuxia flicks. His first film for Shaw Brothers was The Story of Sue San, a Haungmei opera that stands out by having very little singing and a wide variety of unlikable characters.
After catching a quick glimpse of Sue San (Betty Loh Tih), the smitten Wang Jin Long (Chao Lei) discovers that his new love is a prostitute in a local brothel. Undaunted by her current job, Wang quickly drains his family fortune just to catch her attention. Once the locals see the money flowing like water, they quickly get in on the action and scam the oblivious Wang out of every last penny.
Unsatisfied with fancy dinners and ruinously expensive dates, Wang decides to ‘marry’ Sue San. This bit of the movie confused me and is likely to confuse others. Although she’s a paid companion, Sue San is still a virgin. When Wang ‘marries’ her, all he’s really doing is paying for the right to take her virginity. It’s not a real marriage, more like a long-term lease with crippling payment schedule.
Wang’s expensive fantasy eventually collapses and various tragedies befal the young lovers, as is the tradition of Haungmei films. But, although the plot follows the basic Haungmei structure, it’s filled with a variety of greedy, shortsighted characters, which not as traditional.
Only the put-upon Sue San stands out as a pure-hearted victim. She struggles on while the film takes every opportunity to lambaste the pampered and naive Wang. This criticism may have been King Hu’s idea, or maybe it came from Haungmei innovator Li Han-siang, credited as a co-director on the film. Li’s touch shows in the movie’s rich design and bright musical numbers. Han-siang was no stranger to critiquing lust-blinded men (see Beyond the Great Wall, for example), so it’s hard to pinpoint the genesis of Sue San‘s pessimistic moments.
But that distinction is largely unimportant. The film remains entertaining both as a unique haungmei and as an early effort of King Hu. The always entertaining presence of Betty Loh Tih only makes the film that much more pleasurable.
The Story Of Sue San (aka The Story of Su San)
Dir: King Hu, Li Han-siang
Released: October 1, 1964
Note: Other sources place the film’s release in 1962. It’s possible this film was made in 1962, but not released until 1964. That wasn’t uncommon with Shaw Brothers films. But I think it’s more likely that this was a 1964 production, a chance given to King Hu after his work on The Love Eterne.