Xian nu xia fan (1972)

User Rating:

4.4/10   

Director:

Meng Hua Ho

Writer:

Meng Hua Ho (writer)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Cast

Hsiung Chao
Feng Chin
Yen Fu
Li Jen Ho
Pin Ho
Hui Hsia
Wei Kuo
Wei Lieh Lan
Ching Lee
Peng-fei Li
Hua Lo
Hung Lu
Yung Mei
Lu Pai
Peng Peng
Dean Shek		(as Shih Tien)
Lan Sun
Ying Tan
Ching Wan Wong
Wei Wu

Also Known As:

Sin lui ha fan (Hong Kong: Cantonese title)
The Human Goddess (International: English title)

Runtime:

Hong Kong:99 min

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Mandarin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Shaw Brothers

Trivia:

While local Mandarin films were experiencing a local box office slump during a brief period in the early 70s, former Shaw director/production manager Yuan Chiu Feng reportedly announced in a Taipei press conference that 'Xian nu xia fan' aka 'The Human Goddess' was to be the first Mandarin language feature to be sent over to the United States for patented single strip 70mm Cinerama formatting to tailor it for local D-150 exhibition at Shaw Brother's own Cinerama equipped Pearl Theatre in Hong Kong.

A guilty pleasure

'The Human Goddess' is a VERY guilty pleasure starring Shaw Brothers' "Baby Queen" Li Ching. Li Ching is the Seventh Sister, an angel who comes down from heaven to see what life in Hong Kong is like. In Hong Kong, she runs into Zili(Chin Feng), a reincarnated version of her deceased lover, Dong Yong. Zili, with help from cook Uncle Bull(the warm, portly Peng Peng), do their best to watch over homeless kids in an run-down orphanage. However, a heartless tycoon named Xu Caifa wants the land where the orphanage is and he's willing to go to extremes to get it. Armed with omnipotent powers, spirit, and help from her "celestial sisters", Seventh Sister works to defend Zili, Uncle Bull, and the orphans from Xu Caifa.

Scenes with nudity and some ribald, dyspeptic humor make 'Goddess' a questionable choice for children and prudent viewers, but this film still manages to be light-hearted and whimsical. Director Ho Meng Hua('The Flying Guillotine')does his best to hold the film together even though the film, at times, almost spins out of control like a broken merry-go-round. Li Ching is at the pinnacle of cuteness; she's almost like an HK Chinese Doris Day, to me, at least. 'The Human Goddess' does suffer from flaws such as overacting, stale puns, a dated 1970's look, etc., but it still manages to be a fun, enjoyable, and charming, albeit guilty pleasure.