Village Girl

Village Girl is undoubtedly a comedy par excellence in the Cantonese cinema. San Francisco-based Chinese Auyeung Chim (Yee Chau-shui) returns to Hong Kong in order to settle his daughter's marriage since he has accepted Wong Do-hang's (Ko Lo-chuen) dower many years ago. Chim's daughter, Mei (Fong Yim fun) and Wong's son, Wan (Cheung Ying), both young and open-minded, are completely against their fathers' marital plan for them; they both prefer to choose their own spouse. Wan and Mei meet and have mutual affection towards each other but don't know they are actually each other's arranged spouse. While taking up a prevalent theme of Cantonese cinema – arranged marriage, Village Girl, in spirit, is even closer to a Hollywood subgenre – the screwball comedy. Throughout the film, improbable events, mistaken identities, and ominously misleading circumstantial evidences – all being common features in a screwball comedy – contribute to the film's dramatic irony and create a great deal of humour-by-embarrassment. The script, written by Fung Fung-kor, is not particularly outstanding but Mok Hong-si's tact of storytelling brings out the potentials of its materials, turning all the trivial details into a thoroughly suspenseful story. Aside from the couple, the supporting cast delivers a responsive and spontaneous performance, their presences jointly enhancing the film's comic effect. In Village Girl, everyone seems to have a ticket to this screwball wonderland, collectively underscoring the film's romantic bliss.

# Post-screening talk with Daniel Chan, David Chan

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