This review may contain spoilers
She Hit Me (And It Felt Like a Kiss)
*Kidnapped by bandits, the young Ai Nu (He Lili) is sold to Chun Yi (Bei Di), the ruthless and violent mistress of the “Four Seasons” brothel, a woman with a strong repulsion towards the male gender; Chun Yi, decidedly attracted not only by the rebellious character, but above all by the beauty of the indomitable Ai Nu, bends her to his will, leading her into prostitution; On the other hand, taking advantage of his high influence with Chun Yi, Ai Nu has the madam teach her the martial arts in order to be able to exploit them at the right moment; She aims to take revenge on the brothel's mistress and her wealthy dignitaries, seducing and eliminating them one by one...
A misunderstood gem from the incredible dreams factory of the Shaw Bros. studios, ‘Intimate Confessions’, directed by the blissful hand of Chu Yuan, has rightly earned cult movie status over the years thanks to its mix of genres, which go beyond simple wuxia, and its components of tension, sadism, explicit eros, revenge and unusual violence, which sparklingly determine its stylistic traits.
Chu Yuan had ultimately come to the Shaw Bros team after a career spent filming predominantly Cantonese-language pictures, with mixed production fortunes, some of which were also shot on behalf of his own company, the “Rose Film Company”; but with the ensuing crisis in Cantonese cinema in the late 1960s, the director moved on to other companies, working on predominantly Mandarin-language films; Following the bankruptcy of Cathay, his arrival at Shaw Bros could be considered an unexpected stroke of luck.
His acknowledged sophisticated and innovative style, coupled with the excellent direction of the cast and the studios careful attitude towards higher budget productions, put him a step above his colleagues who may have been more concerned with quantity rather than quality of filmmaking.
The first Hong Kong film with lesbian themes, at least as prominent (it must be remembered, this is 1972), and part of the ‘Brothel Movies’ (movies set in brothels, houses of ill repute, etc.), ‘Intimate Confessions’ is a melodrama with decidedly dark overtones. where the ambivalent dualism Love/Hate and the tragic fatalism that leads us to the beautiful conclusion, go hand in hand with the relationship of sadistic and masochistic submission that is reflected, ironically, even in the names of the main female characters, who are, moreover, decidedly charming.
Where “Ai” (Love) “Nu” (Slave) can in fact be rendered as “Love Slave” or “Subservient”. in contrast, and somewhat ironically, given the nature of the woman, Chun (“Spring”) Yi (“Happiness”) can be interpreted as “Plesant Spring” (or “Spring Happiness”); In addition, if ‘Four Seasons’ is the name of the brothel (which makes one smile, since it recalls wealthy hotel franchises...), four are also the main dignitaries who will have to reckon with Ai Nu's spirit of vengeance…
Ai Nu, who, from being the obscure object of desire (of both genders), in reality reveals herself to be totally unattached to any sentimentalism, aiming exclusively at a very personal revenge against men and towards the one who has de facto enslaved her, in order to overturn her own condition of submission.
In this contest, it is precisely the male element that does not make a good impression on any level, given that all the male characters in the story come out totally diminished, not to say reduced to impotence, both physically and emotionally; if the clients go so far as to physically possess the prostitute, but receive nothing in return, the poor official Confucian Ji De, hopelessly in love with Ai Nu, will find himself relegated to the unhappy role of platonic voyeur.
As previously mentioned, Chu Yuan's filmmaking skill lies in the accumulation of recurring motifs or clichés considered typical in wuxia: From the theme of revenge, to love and deception, to the use of martial arts, all the way to the grand finale with the merciless duel, but all with great attention to detail, starting with the truly remarkable scenographic decor, including veils, curtains and the beautiful clothes of the characters; the chromatic attention to the colours of the costumes that change according to the situation and the degree of drama also returns here.
Emblematic is the grand finale, very well-choreographed, all swords, blood and various dismemberments, where the two female opponents find themselves side by side, fighting with no holds barred, dressed practically the same and, in some parts, indistinguishable from one another: John Woo and the usual Quentin Tarantino (with a penchant for revenge movies), they will certainly have appreciated, considering the particular killing technique used by Chun Yi, as well as the solutions employed by Ai Nu to eliminate the four dignitaries: Striking, for example, the erotic stratagem of prolonged and repeated sexual intercourse to literally ‘ exhaust ’ the target.
Blood and violence, fights, but also irony, passion, with notable sapphic love scenes (see also the finale) that, in those years, returned a little in all cinematic latitudes, from Italian gothic (Mario Caiano above all) to the cinema of Jess Franco (the extraordinary ‘Vampyros Lesbos’ is from 1971), up to the beautiful vamps of Hammer Film Production in the UK.
In addition to all these aspects, some ‘secondary’ nudity, also justified by the location of the story (which, it should always be specified, takes place entirely inside the brothel) will have helped to broaden the audience, but ‘Intimate Confessions of A Chinese Courtesan’ is undoubtedly an absolutely excellent movie that deserves its international cult status and is still very much appreciated today, making it a must-see for every lover of Hong Kong cinema.
*A heartfelt thank you to Riccardo Esposito who, in his beautiful book ‘Fant’Asia’, has treated Chu Yuan's film in an exemplary manner, giving it due credit long before the usual, and often belated, festival recoveries; All the main themes, annotations and references on morphology and articulate Chinese composed words come from there
8 ½
A misunderstood gem from the incredible dreams factory of the Shaw Bros. studios, ‘Intimate Confessions’, directed by the blissful hand of Chu Yuan, has rightly earned cult movie status over the years thanks to its mix of genres, which go beyond simple wuxia, and its components of tension, sadism, explicit eros, revenge and unusual violence, which sparklingly determine its stylistic traits.
Chu Yuan had ultimately come to the Shaw Bros team after a career spent filming predominantly Cantonese-language pictures, with mixed production fortunes, some of which were also shot on behalf of his own company, the “Rose Film Company”; but with the ensuing crisis in Cantonese cinema in the late 1960s, the director moved on to other companies, working on predominantly Mandarin-language films; Following the bankruptcy of Cathay, his arrival at Shaw Bros could be considered an unexpected stroke of luck.
His acknowledged sophisticated and innovative style, coupled with the excellent direction of the cast and the studios careful attitude towards higher budget productions, put him a step above his colleagues who may have been more concerned with quantity rather than quality of filmmaking.
The first Hong Kong film with lesbian themes, at least as prominent (it must be remembered, this is 1972), and part of the ‘Brothel Movies’ (movies set in brothels, houses of ill repute, etc.), ‘Intimate Confessions’ is a melodrama with decidedly dark overtones. where the ambivalent dualism Love/Hate and the tragic fatalism that leads us to the beautiful conclusion, go hand in hand with the relationship of sadistic and masochistic submission that is reflected, ironically, even in the names of the main female characters, who are, moreover, decidedly charming.
Where “Ai” (Love) “Nu” (Slave) can in fact be rendered as “Love Slave” or “Subservient”. in contrast, and somewhat ironically, given the nature of the woman, Chun (“Spring”) Yi (“Happiness”) can be interpreted as “Plesant Spring” (or “Spring Happiness”); In addition, if ‘Four Seasons’ is the name of the brothel (which makes one smile, since it recalls wealthy hotel franchises...), four are also the main dignitaries who will have to reckon with Ai Nu's spirit of vengeance…
Ai Nu, who, from being the obscure object of desire (of both genders), in reality reveals herself to be totally unattached to any sentimentalism, aiming exclusively at a very personal revenge against men and towards the one who has de facto enslaved her, in order to overturn her own condition of submission.
In this contest, it is precisely the male element that does not make a good impression on any level, given that all the male characters in the story come out totally diminished, not to say reduced to impotence, both physically and emotionally; if the clients go so far as to physically possess the prostitute, but receive nothing in return, the poor official Confucian Ji De, hopelessly in love with Ai Nu, will find himself relegated to the unhappy role of platonic voyeur.
As previously mentioned, Chu Yuan's filmmaking skill lies in the accumulation of recurring motifs or clichés considered typical in wuxia: From the theme of revenge, to love and deception, to the use of martial arts, all the way to the grand finale with the merciless duel, but all with great attention to detail, starting with the truly remarkable scenographic decor, including veils, curtains and the beautiful clothes of the characters; the chromatic attention to the colours of the costumes that change according to the situation and the degree of drama also returns here.
Emblematic is the grand finale, very well-choreographed, all swords, blood and various dismemberments, where the two female opponents find themselves side by side, fighting with no holds barred, dressed practically the same and, in some parts, indistinguishable from one another: John Woo and the usual Quentin Tarantino (with a penchant for revenge movies), they will certainly have appreciated, considering the particular killing technique used by Chun Yi, as well as the solutions employed by Ai Nu to eliminate the four dignitaries: Striking, for example, the erotic stratagem of prolonged and repeated sexual intercourse to literally ‘ exhaust ’ the target.
Blood and violence, fights, but also irony, passion, with notable sapphic love scenes (see also the finale) that, in those years, returned a little in all cinematic latitudes, from Italian gothic (Mario Caiano above all) to the cinema of Jess Franco (the extraordinary ‘Vampyros Lesbos’ is from 1971), up to the beautiful vamps of Hammer Film Production in the UK.
In addition to all these aspects, some ‘secondary’ nudity, also justified by the location of the story (which, it should always be specified, takes place entirely inside the brothel) will have helped to broaden the audience, but ‘Intimate Confessions of A Chinese Courtesan’ is undoubtedly an absolutely excellent movie that deserves its international cult status and is still very much appreciated today, making it a must-see for every lover of Hong Kong cinema.
*A heartfelt thank you to Riccardo Esposito who, in his beautiful book ‘Fant’Asia’, has treated Chu Yuan's film in an exemplary manner, giving it due credit long before the usual, and often belated, festival recoveries; All the main themes, annotations and references on morphology and articulate Chinese composed words come from there
8 ½
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