The Joys and Sorrows of Ting Ying

As Time Goes By

Dir/Scr/Prod: Wong Cheuk-hon
Orig Story: Ma Wan
Prod Co: Lan Kwong
Cast: Ting Ying, Cheung Yee, Lee Hak, Cheng Kwan-min, Helena Law Lan, Lee Pang-fei, Kam Mei-fung
1964 | B&W | Digital File | Cantonese | 101min

In the 1950s and 60s, in addition to producing, Wong also directed some of his films. In this, Lan Kwong’s fourth anniversary film, he was the writer, director and producer. The story is adapted from a Rediffusion Radio airwave novel written by Ma Wan, which describes the bumpy and tortuous life of a woman. Chan (Ting Ying)’s father dies in her childhood. Her stepfather tries to force her into an arranged marriage, and when she defies him, he kicks her out of his home. She marries her childhood friend Wang (Cheung Yee) and has a son, but Wang dies soon after. To make ends meet, she resorts to being a table dancer. When her son (Lee Hak) returns from university overseas, he becomes engaged to his classmate (Kam Mei-fung), but her father (Lee Pang-fei) despises Chan for her line of work, and tries to break them up. In an attempt to secure her son’s happiness, Chan claims not to be his birth mother… Ting Ying, an expert in sad roles, played the character from a young woman to a mother of a young man. She seemed to span the age range with ease, and her emotions were all very natural. In addition, Ting’s on-screen ‘nemesis’ Helena Law Lan, plays a very rare role of a good person, who becomes good friends with the lead character, and they become sworn sisters, going through the trials and tribulations of life together.

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