A Strange Woman

Dir: Li Pingqian
Scr: Yao Ke
Prod Co: Great Wall
Cast: Bai Guang, Yan Jun, Huang He, Kung Chiu-hsia, Wang Yuen-lung
1950 | B&W | D Beta | Mandarin | 95min

Not seen in Hong Kong for many years, A Strange Woman was Li Pingqian's first film at Great Wall Film Studio. Adapted from the play La Tosca by French playwright Victorien Sardou, opera star Xiao Xiangshui (Bai Guang) helps her lover, a revolutionary, to escape from warlords. She finesses with both the head of the secret service (Yan Jun) and her lover's wife, but things do not turn out as planned. Li changed his usual pace to encompass a more conventional and dramatic film plot. Bold and flirtatious in her role, Bai Guang is equally over the top in appearance as Yan Jun. The tension in winning the heroine over drives the plot more than the themes of patriotism and loyalty in love.

The Betacam tape used for the screening is a sole copy; the image and sound quality is short of ideal. We appreciate your understanding.

Screening courtesy of CDCC Paris