China Girl (1987)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Abel Ferrara

Writer:

Nicholas St. John (writer)

Release Date:

25 September 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

A modern day Romeo & Juliet story is told in New York when an Italian boy and a Chinese girl become lovers...

Plot Keywords:

Italian | Gang | Chinese | Chinese Girl | Romeo And Juliet

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

James Russo	...	Alby
Richard Panebianco	...	Tony
Sari Chang	...	Tye
David Caruso	...	Mercury
Russell Wong	...	Yung Gan
Joey Chin	...	Tsu Shin
Judith Malina	...	Mrs. Monte
James Hong	...	Gung Tu
Robert Miano	...	Enrico Perito
Paul Hipp	...	Nino
Doreen Chan	...	Gau Shing
Randy Sabusawa	...	Ma Fan
Keenan Leung	...	Ying Tz
Lum Chang Pan	...	Da Shan
Sammy Lee	...	Mohawk

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | UK:18 (cut) | Australia:R | Sweden:15 | USA:R | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Great American Films Limited Partnership

Trivia:

Out of all of the films he has directed, Abel Ferrara has stated that China Girl is his favorite.

Quotes:

Enrico Perito: "You wanna be a wiseguy Alby?"

Movie Connections:

Referenced in A Short Film About the Long Career of Abel Ferrara (2004) (V)

Soundtrack:

Nessun Dorma

West Side Story updated to 1987

Chinese gangs vs. Italian gangs in NYC in 1987. Tony (Richard Panebianco) and Tye (Sari Chang) meet and fall in love. Meanwhile Tye's brother hates all Italians and Tony's friends hate Chinese.

If you've seen "West Side Story" you know how this ends--but a bit more tragically in this movie. Plotwise it's very obvious but it's beautifully done. Filmed with energy, beautifully atmospheric (the sets and lighting are incredible), and full of bursts of ultraviolence. Most of the roles are well acted, especially by James Russo, David Caruso (chewing the scenery) and Russell Wong. As the young lovers Panebianco and Chang are, unfortunately, not that good. In a way it's understandable--he was only 16 when this was made and it's the first role for both. They're both very attractive (Panebianco is pretty buff with a baby face; Chang is delicate and beautiful) but have little to do other than kiss and act like they love each other. That isn't believable either since they have zero sexual chemistry. Still, they are sympathetic characters. Also, in a nice touch, Panebianco shows more skin than Chang in their sex scene.

This is really obscure and it doesn't deserve it. It had almost no release in 1987 (there were no stars to sell it) and was never a big hit on cable or video. Also Chang never made another movie and Panebianco disappeared after making a few more films (Whatever happened to him? He showed a lot of promise.). That's too bad--this deserves a bigger audience. Worth watching on cable or renting.