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THE
ASIAN VALUES DVD REVIEW
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For many
Chinese, Hongkong was seen as an El Dorado - a place where one
can make one's fortune. But the migrants who peopled Chang Tseng-chai's
Sex For Sale (1974) are a far cry from those who make up Chu Yuan's
House Of 72 Tenants (1973). For a start, gone was that community
feeling and that sense of looking out for one another. In its
place is a much more materialistic and selfish work ethic.
Chin Han is a simple young man from the countryside looking for
work in the city. At an employment agency, he is asked by lady
boss Tina Chin Fei to strip. Liking what she sees - viewers only
get to see Chin Han in his drawers (in the script he's supposed
to strip everything) while Chin Fei keeps ogling at Chin Han's
crotch - she offers him a job as a swimsuit model opposite Ai
Ti.
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As an ageing
former model who now runs her own business, apart from giving
Chin Han work, Chin Fei would also like to have the young man
as her boy toy - especially to help ease those lonely nights,
which he initially does not object. Another person who also has
her eyes on the young man is his landlady who is willing to even
lower or waive the rent for sexual services rendered.
Thus begins
the erotic life of Chin Han in the city. Like Jon Voight's Midnight
Cowboy, women easily fall for the good-looking young man and,
before long he gets another job looking after invalid Ha Ping,
which also means sharing her bed. In between are more dalliance
with Chin Fei, model Lou Bing-qing, hooker Helen Ko and the statuesque
Ai Ti, plus a detour to a nudie bar. In a way, the film foreshadows
Chin Han's rise - after this scintillating outing, he would later
find fame as a heartthrob in Taiwanese tearjerkers, many of which
also starred Brigitte Lin Ching Hsia. But the road to fame starts
off by the selling of one's body.
Ai
Ti and Chin Han
And this
is where Sex For Sale stands out from among the many Hongkong
melodramas. Unlike the other films which have a tendency to be
preachy and moralistic, Sex For Sale is practically pragmatism
gone haywire. Every character is out to get something for himself
or herself and the only currency for barter or trade is the body.
Even the apparently kind-hearted Ai Ti. She may have a soft spot
for Chin Han and can afford to be generous with him (possibly
because she is successful and not to mention also has a sugar
daddy on the side), but when push comes to shove, instead of spending
time with her true love, Chin Han is left in the cold fending
for himself.
While casting
the good-looking Chin Han as a gigolo is good commercial sense,
the film stumbles when it comes to portraying male homosexuality,
which is certainly controversial in the '70s. Written by Yi Da,
who plays a gay night club singer who hits on Chin Han, the script
makes the wrong move by saying, in a throwaway line, that homosexuality
is a form of sickness. While it makes no pretence at being politically
correct (the notion didn't even exist at the time of the making
of the movie), it would have fleshed out the Yi Da character,
who is stereotypically prissy, by teasing out his feelings of
lust, desire and love. As it is, the character barely registers
and his suicide (a melodramatic and rather pat device) only serves
to give the film an ending of sorts.
Tina
Chin Fei
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Interestingly,
for a film which obviously exploits an actress's body - all the
key actresses - Ai Ti, Tina Chin Fei, Lou Bing-qing and Helen
Ko - have nude scenes, narratively, all these characters kind
of achieved what they set out to do. As the story unfurls, if
the Chin Han character doesn't succeed, it's not because he's
kind hearted (a theme that runs through the Crazy Bumpkins series)
but because he's not ruthless or selfish enough. In other words,
he has no, what Ai Ti calls, "survival skills."
Note: The Sex For Sale DVD is not available in $ingapore.
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Click here for other Asian Values DVD Reviews:
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36 Secrets Of Courtship
Biyaheng Langit
Sexy Girls Of Denmark
Laman
Golden Lotus: Love And Desire
Tuhog (Larger Than Life)
Dreams Of Eroticism
Legends Of Lust
Amorous Woman Of Tang Dynasty
Hong Kong Hong Kong
Kiss Of Death
Crazy Sex
Forbidden Tales Of Two Cities
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