Landlady and Tenant (aka Ah Chun Wants to Get Married)

Landlady and Tenant is a continuation of the "tenement house drama" popularised in the 1950s Cantonese cinema. The story begins with the landlord Uncle Eighth (Ko Lo-chuen) renting a room to the impoverished tenant Wong Chun-ching (Paul Chu). Uncle Eighth is a snob who fawns over the rich and condescends to the poor, thus it comes as no surprise that he and his wife would object to then romance between their daughter Sau-chun (Ting Ying) and Chun-ching. But Sau-chun is too stubborn to obey her parents blindly. Besides her love affair, she also goes to work at Brands and Products Expo for Chun-ching to pay his mother's medical bill. The pharmacy owner Chin Hoi-ngan (Mui Yan) has his eyes on Sau-chun and intends to make her his kept woman. She is ultimately saved by the joint efforts of the tenants which bring her and Chun-ching to a happy ending. Mok Hong-si's strength in portraying supporting characters is once again demonstrated in Landlady and Tenant: a number of characters make their appearance in the film but none of them can be said to be bland. With just a single scene, Mok can create a memorable impression out of a supporting role. In the film we can observe how he balances the main story and sub-plot, and manages to be both uproarious in the comic scenes and solemn in the delivery of a moral address. Chan King-sam's meticulous set design further enriches the film on top of Mok's adept direction. One of the interests of Landlady and Tenant lies in its "legacy" with the tenement house drama, especially when one compares it with such classics as In the Face of Demolition (1953).

Date	Time	Venue
26/6/2016 (Sun)	2:00pm	Cinema, Hong Kong Film Archive
3/7/2016 (Sun)	7:30pm	Cinema, Hong Kong Film Archive

The contents of the programme do not represent the views of the presenter. The presenter reserves the right to change the programme should unavoidable circumstances make it necessary.