Won’t You Give Me a Kiss? (1968) Director: Wong Yiu Cast: Connie Chan, Lui Kei, Ha Ping, Lydia Shum Publisher: Winson; Format: VCD, DVD (Region 0)     Fung Hang; Format: VCD (Mandarin audio) English subtitles: No The place: a very westernized Hong Kong full of life. The people: a dissatisfied couple (Lui Kei and Ha Ping, called respectively Happy and Honey!) living a nightclub life (she sings, he takes a slice of her earnings) and a group of girls employed in a department store (among them, Connie Chan and Lydia Shum). The plot: one day Lui Kei runs into Connie and protects her from some hoodlums who are bullying her in the street. From that moment, he has eyes only for her and she is fascinated by him; the goal of the story becomes bringing together these two very different kinds of people while removing all obstacles along the way. But one of the obstacles, the dissatisfied woman who shares a bed with Lui Kei, will be difficult to remove: she’ll not only react with passion but also fight back with the help of some badass girls! Won’t You Give Me A Kiss begins like a bitter urban comedy, with a troubled Lui Kei kicking a trash can down a staircase, but as the story unfolds, it clearly becomes a drama—but not without some pop-surreal comical moments (during a fight in the department store between the shop girls and the bad girls, Connie Chan accidentally removes a girl’s wig and immediately uses it as a toreador’s cloak!). The first half of the film alternates between indoor scenes adding details to the story and outdoor sequences adding nothing but the pleasure of listening to Connie sing and watching her and Lui Kei play ping pong, take a walk, look into each other’s eyes.... Towards the end, however, things become utterly tragic. In less than half an hour, we witness an attempted rape (not uncommon in the films starring Lui Kei and directed by Wong Yiu) and an attempted murder (with Lui Kei and Connie trying to escape on foot from a furious Ha Ping chasing them by car in the middle of the night)—and if that wasn’t enough, Ha Ping sells her body in order to make the money to buy Lui Kei a wooden leg! All of this makes Won’t You Give Me A Kiss a perfect example of Cantonese cinema, in which genres are blended without shame. The twists and turns of the plot are improbable yet easy to follow, interesting to watch and never ridiculous or boring. Walking the fine line between laughter and tears like a skilled acrobat, the Cantonese cinema of the sixties surely knew how to entertain its audience with a bit of everything. This a far cry from the Mandarin movies (of the Shaw Brothers and Cathay studios) which instead offered a special atmosphere, beautiful costumes, a rich package—but never so many flavors within just one movie. Improvisation, gestures, and a passionate temperament are the unique ingredients which make Cantonese movies so irresistible. Speaking of temperament and gesture, Lui Kei commands the screen: he moves like a silent movie character, jumping to and fro with grace and leading Connie Chan dance-like throughout the film. Connie is the best possible “girl next door” (except when she wears a Playboy-style outfit complete with bunny ears!), very adorable and always positive, even if a bit passive. Her character suffers a lot, cries a lot, and believes in a better tomorrow, yet she rarely reacts and rarely shows any energy. The script wants Connie to be the opposite of Ha Ping, and Ha Ping is the strong one, the one who makes decisions, the one who really knows what she wants and how to get it. It is interesting to note that in every movie made by Wong Yiu in cooperation with Lui Kei, almost as a trademark, Connie is always the weakest character and the one who has to bear the most terrible misfortunes, rape being the one that punctually appears in the finale of movie after movie. Won’t You Give Me A Kiss contains great performances by its three stars, Connie Chan, Lui Kei and Ha Ping, and this alone is enough to make it a good movie. The recipe may be not that original but you won’t regret sampling it. Reviewed by Valentina Verrocchio NOTE: The screen captures are taken from the Fung Hang VCD which has richer colors than the Winson release but unfortunately has a Mandarin audio track instead of the original Cantonese. Lui Kei falls for the gentle Connie Chan. Smoking, drinking, and picking her toes, Ha Ping is the antithesis of sweet Connie. Lui Kei declares his love to Connie (but neglects to mention his relationship with Ha Ping). Ha Ping and her crew of bad girls confront Connie and her friends. Ha Ping is driven by jealousy and a desire for revenge. Love prevails over every obstacle thrown in its path.