唐山阿嫂 (CHINA WIFE) (Singapore, 1957, Chan Man & Chor Yuen 楚原)

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唐山阿嫂 (CHINA WIFE) is a transposition into modern day of the legend of Quin Xianglian, dating back to the sixteenth century, often adapted into opera and films, though its most direct antecedent is a play SERACHING FOR THE HUSBAND OVERSEAS (HAIWAI XUNFU) which had also been filmed at least once before… [it is] a classic ‘message’ film that strives to teach the public about prejudice, superstitions, and the values of family… 唐山阿嫂 (CHINA WIFE) was the most commercially successful film in the ‘Nanyang Trilogy.’ —Stephen Teo, Asian Film Archive

In 唐山阿嫂 (CHINA WIFE), Keung Chung-ping plays Ah-gau, an impoverished man who leaves his wife, So-ching (Nam Hung), and baby in Macau to travel to Southeast Asia and join his cousin (Patrick Tse) in search of better employment. A series of fortunate events propel him into high society, and soon he falls in love with a tycoon’s daughter, Ming-chu (Patsy Kar Ling).

Greed causes Ah-gau to change his name to erase traces of his former life. Abandoned by Ah-gau, So-ching suffers in poverty and decides to journey to Singapore to search for her husband.

南洋三部曲 (THE NANYANG TRILOGY) is a triptych of films filmed in Singapore and Malaysia that was produced by the Kong Ngee Company in 1957. The films contained within this trilogy are MOON OVER MALAYA (椰林月), BLOOD STAINS THE VALLEY OF LOVE (血染相思谷), and CHINA WIFE (唐山阿嫂). These films were notable in their time for jumpstarting the careers of teen idols Patrick Tse Yin, Pasty Kar Ling, and Nam Hung.

The Kong Ngee Company began shooting the “Nanyang Trilogy” towards the end of 1956. All three films are set in Singapore and Malaya (the latter name was in current usage at the time). Both were British colonies, though in 1956, when the films were shot, British rule was about to end in the Malayan Peninsula. Malaya gained its independence in 1957, and while Singapore remained governed by the British, it too was destined to become a fully independent nation. (Singapore joined the Federation of Malaysia in 1963, thus marking its formal independence from Britain, but it was ejected from the Federation in 1965 and thus became an independent country in its own right).

唐山阿嫂 (CHINA WIFE) was restored in Singapore in 2018 by L’Immagine Ritrovata in collaboration with the Asian Film Archive. The new digital restorations of the “Nanyang Trilogy” titles are accompanied by a 118-page PDF booklet, published by AFA, which delineates the founding and history of the Kong Ngee Company, the making of the “Nanyang Trilogy,” and the Trilogy’s historical significance and cultural impact over 60 years later.

唐山阿嫂 (CHINA WIFE)
(Singapore, 1957)

Director: Chan Man and Chor Yuen (楚原)

  • 91 minutes
  • 35mm
  • Black and white
  • Sound
Distribution Format/s: DSL/Downloadable 2K .mp4 file on server

Published By: GME

Institutional Price: $250

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