Everlasting regrects

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What can I say?

This movie does give me some thoughts. It is a story about a beautiful woman who won the Miss Shanghai contest at the very young age and subsequently fell in love and was made, willingly, a mistress to a Kuo Ming Tang TaiKo. After the communist uprise, he has escaped in exile to Brazil, leaving her in Shang Hai. Recovering from a broken heart, she then recovered to work as a nurse and met another guy who then 'promised' to marry her. However, she was found pregnant. The second guy was at the same time asked by his dad to do his business in Hong Kong, abandoning her again in Shanghai. In that era, she has to marry a man to give her baby a legitimate certificate. She, as a result, had to pay to marry a sick man who then shortly died. Living her life as a widow, she brought up her daughter who then imigrated to USA. She later met a young guy whom she again fell in love. He yet again applied for a passport, planning to go to Taiwan to 'look for opportunities' and was going to leave her again in Shanghai. Just before he went away he got himself into trouble with debtors (Tai Yi Long) and ran to find her. On the same day, she found out after all these years her first love has been living in Brazil and now died, she was heart broken and decided to be left alone for a while. This young man budged into her house and they both had an argument. He then suffocated her with a pillow during the fight. All this time, there was always this quietly observing photographer who discovered her at her young age and it was his picture she was made Miss Shanghai. He has been in love with her but did not dare to express his love. The right moment always seems to be always interupted by the arrival of another man in her life.

A sad story about a beautiful woman who had never had any fulfilling love life. Four men in her life who all shared the same trait-cowardry. Each man was not willing to bring her along to Brazil, to Hong Kong and to Taiwan. Even the last one never had enough courage to tell her how much he has been loving her. In the end she was killed by a man.

Interestingly, I felt this poor lady depicted in this movie, strangely, represents the current China mainland. A beautiful country which has been left alone, unnurtured, unloved, abandoned and tortured by the current governing policy. Sooner and later, she will also be suffocated too.

the whole movie has spanned from the late fifties to near millenium while China especially shanghai has gone through various stages from post war glories to downfall to current current modernisation. The whole atmosphere is well caught witha very strong 'salon' photographic feel to it. It does give a very strong nostalgic feel to it. Sammy Cheung (+_+) (very sui sui) as usual supassed all expectations to play the lead actress so well in this movie with Leung Ka Fai (Yam chin). I like the way the men had this emaculately well combed oily hair!

It also depicts the full glory and elegance of Chinese Chiongsam and Chi Pao. The movie is such a sensational treat.

If you like watching 'in the mood for love' then you would like watching this movie. Personal rating:Five stars.