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Review by
Calvin
McMillin: |
Set sometime in the early twentieth century, My
Young Auntie tells the story of Jing Dai-Nan (the
luminous Kara Hui Ying-Hung), a loyal student who
marries her elderly master as a favor to him. Why?
Well, for plot purposes, it's important for Dai-Nan
to take control of her master's assets when he croaks
(and he does) and keep them away from the dastardly
Yu Wing-Sang (consummate Shaw baddie Johnny Wang Lung-Wei).
Now newly widowed, it's up to Dai-Nan to rightfully
bestow her master's property upon his most deserving,
yet slightly meek nephew, Yu Jing-Chuen (Lau Kar-Leung).
Thanks to Chinese custom, the fact that she's the
wife of a family elder—hasty as the marriage
was—makes her a "senior" in the family hierarchy,
a distinction she uses to her full advantage. Naturally,
things get a little crazy when Jing-Chuen's son, Ah
Tao, returns home from school. Although she and Ah
Tao (who's rechristened himself "Charlie") are about
the same age, custom dictates that Ah Tao and his
father must defer to "their young auntie." Naturally,
plenty of hijinks ensue.
One of the most memorable
(and strangest) hijink-filled episodes of the film
involves an elaborate masquerade ball/hoedown thrown
by Ah Tao and his college buddies. Apparently, Ah
Tao plans to use the ball as a chance to get back
at Dai-Nan. How? Well, I'm not sure, but it involves
Dai-Nan dressing up like Marie Antoinette, Ah Tao
donning a Robin Hood costume, and Gordon Liu showing
up to the party looking like a foppish French aristocrat.
Oh, and some folks dress up as The Three Musketeers.
And then suddenly three of the villains show up to
the party dressed as Alexandre Dumas's creations as
well. Not surprisingly, a fight breaks out, and almost
a decade before Xiong Xin-Xin served as stunt director
for The Musketeer, Lau Kar-Leung gives us a
taste of how cool Chinese-styled musketeer fencing
can truly be. Lau choreographs the sequence in that
old school Shaws style of fighting that, when done
correctly as is the case here, still holds up today.
After several amusing
vignettes involving Dai-Nan and Ah Tao, the plot kicks
in when the bad guys steal the deed to the family
property. With Yu Jin-Chuen and most of the family
seemingly too out of shape to take back what's theirs,
Dai-Nan and "Charlie" decide to infiltrate Yu Wing-Sang's
booby-trapped mansion alone. But when Dai-Nan is taken
hostage, Ah Tao must seek reinforcements, resulting
in a final battle between the old, but capable Jin-Chuen
and the evil Wing-Sang.
Although the above
synopsis glosses over Dai-Nan's importance to the
plot, it must be said that My Young Auntie
hinges on its star, Kara Hui Ying-Hung, and she doesn't
disappoint. It's great to actually have a strong female
protagonist in a kung fu film as old as this, rather
than having to sit through yet another of the umpteen
male-driven revenge sagas that are out there. At some
points, she's eye-catchingly authoritative as the
new family elder; in other sequences, she's just plain
adorable playing the country bumpkin discovering the
modern world. Hui is a fine comedic actress and fun
to watch in all her martial arts sequences, which
begs the question - what more could you ask for?
Well, seeing as how this
is a critique, I would be remiss if I didn't mention
the film's near fatal flaw. Namely, it would have
been nice if the filmmakers would have realized Kara
Hui Ying-Hung's magnetic presence and let her character
"own" the finale. The film is named My Young Auntie
after all, yet the movie is STILL constructed in such
a way that the male characters have to save her, which
was somewhat of a disappointment, considering the
development the character had achieved throughout
the picture. Sure, Hsiao Hou, dressed in full military
regalia complete with army helmet, provides ample
comic relief in the final reel, and yes, it probably
makes sense for Lau Kar-Leung's character to take
charge and face off with his villainous relative,
but Kara Hui Ying-Hung's character is so central to
the film that it's a shame the filmmakers didn't stick
to its proto-girl power theme and let her take care
of business.
Ah, well. Even with
its problems, My Young Auntie amounts to solid,
if inconsequential entertainment. There's plenty of
top quality kung fu fighting for those interested
in that sort of thing, and the "wacky" humor actually
does qualify as humorous, so there's no harm in checking
out this Shaw Brothers classic one afternoon. Isn't
it about time to discover the magic of Kara Hui Ying-Hung?
(Calvin McMillin 2004)
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