I know, my blog has been neglected quite a bit lately. The reason for this is that, quite frankly, I haven't been watching any DVDs lately. I have however, been catching up on my fansubs as well as getting a little bit of a social life again.

Anyway ...

The Story of Sue San is a one of the classic Huangmei opera and as such it's a sort of folky simple Chinese tale. It's adapted from the 15th century story "The Miserable Yu Tang Chun Meets Her Husband" and, quite frankly, can be downright depressing at times yet still pleasant to watch and listen to.

I think what makes Huangmei so fascinating to me is just how culturally different it is from western style stories. I don't know if it's related to the Buddhist belief that life is suffering but the film seemed to show people really down on their luck a lot. All the while the system of brothels is never challenged seriously by the characters (which based on my scant knowledge of Chinese history and culture may in fact be entirely accurate) but yet to me it seems appalling how such a system of buying your wife would lead to happiness. Still, it seems nice and the two really must have loved each other so who can argue with that?

The Story of Sue San is an interesting opera and for those curious of Chinese opera or those who want to see Shaw Brothers outside of Chang Cheh bloodbaths, give this one a look!

Labels: Hong Kong, Huang-Mei, Musical