A Widow's Tears

Dir/Scr: Zhu Shilin
Orig Story: Si Tak (alias Ko Hung)
Prod Co: Great Wall
Co-starring: Xu Xian, Hsia Moon, Betty Bai, Cao Yan, Liu Su
1956 / B&W / D Beta / Cantonese (Dubbed) / 106min

Fang Mei (Hsia Moon) is widowed on the day of her second wedding anniversary. A maelstrom of prejudice and accusation, coupled with the contempt shown by her mother-in-law (Liu Su), the feelings of alienation instigated by her husband's relative (Wang Xiyun) and the ignorance of her sister-in-law (Betty Loh Ti), are all rubbing salt in her wound. With resignation and resolve, she leaves her late husband's house and starts anew. Told entirely from the perspective of Mei, the story is richly nuanced and deeply evocative. Playing a spoilt, reckless brat who is the very picture of ignorance and vanity, Betty Loh Ti made the most of her limited screen time to create a fully fleshed role and inhabit it – a feat that, alas, would not be repeated later in her career. (The Cantonese-dubbed version will be screened)