Dir: Lung To
Orig Story/Scr/Librettist: Tong Tik-sang
Prod Co: Tao Yuen
Cast: Yam Kim-fai, Pak Suet-sin, Leung Sing-por, Hui Ying-sau,
Yam Bing-yee
1959 B&W D Beta Cantonese Chinese Lyrics 109 min

 

Continuous take not only highlights the marvel of performers' agility in action sequences, it also enhances the romantic mood in dramas. In Happy Wedding, the princess (Pak Suetsin) weds the prince in distress (Yam Kim-fai) in a shabby hut. The shot begins with the tattered exteriors, travels inside the hut through the window, pans across the almost barren walls before settling on the couple. It continues to track the couple with fluidity, bringing the audience into the scene as it follows Yam's postures and perspective towards both the leaking roof and the broken window. Director Lung To used parallel editing during the couple's first encounter, and montage to summarise their difficult married lives. The freeze-frame effect at the end allows audience to remain in the happy ending emotionally with the protagonists, making Happy Wedding a bona fide masterpiece of Yam and Pak.