Madame Kam (Opening Film)

Mok Hong-si reached his career peak in 1963 during which he directed 15 films (co-directing in two). In the following years until his death, he maintained a steady annual output of between eight and 12 films. Madame Kam attracted huge media attention for the first-time ever collaboration of Pak Yin and Ting Ying, two superstars of the Cantonese cinema in the 1950s and 60s respectively. Pak Yin plays the titular role, a legendary courtesan who is framed and imprisoned for 19 years. She gives her young daughter to a relative and instructs the latter to tell the girl that her mother is dead. Released from jail now and knowing that the daughter, Fan (Ting Ying), has been happily married to Fai (Cheung Yee), she goes to the latter begging for a meeting with Fan. A series of mishaps make Fan misunderstand that Kam and Fai are actually having an illicit affair. An archetypal tear-jerking melodrama in every aspect, the film, however, succeeds in being genuinely touching. Mok's direction is precise, fluent and meticulous. Pak Yin is bold and unrestrained, but elegant and stately simultaneously. Ting Ying, definitely no match to her in terms of acting, but is brimming with the charm of an innocent. The true surprise of the film goes to veteran actor Lok Kung who plays a satiric old man here, a role which is a far cry from the benevolent elderly he commonly portrays.

Date	Time	Venue
14/5/2016 (Sat) #	2:00pm	Cinema, Hong Kong Film Archive
1/7/2016 (Fri)	5:15pm	Cinema, Hong Kong Film Archive

# Post-screening talk with Shu Kei

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