Here is a tip for all the men out there. Free of charge. If ever you should
be walking down the street late at night and you wander accidentally into
a courtyard that normally is deserted and a beautiful woman with long black
hair dressed in an elegant qipao is playing a Guqin or another stringed instrument,
you may want to re-think seducing her - or being seduced by her. Chances
are she is a ghost. Apparently, Fang Meng-yeh (Wa Lun) had never been told
this or hadn't seen The Enchanting Shadow or read the Strange Tales
from a Chinese Studio by Pu Songling. Encounters with beautiful female ghosts
rarely go well. Sure, a little fun at first but in the long run not a sustainable
relationship. Not that Fang Man-yeh is looking for a serious relationship.
He is a 17th century slacker. Well-educated from a good family, he earns
enough money from scripting calligraphy on fans to pay for the past times
that he really enjoys - all night drinking with his friends and visits to
the local brothel, the Chun Hong Brothel Ltd.
This Shaw Brothers film is a bit on the low-rent side with the sets looking
like they came from earlier films and actors who were not stars. In fact,
they bring in Li Ching near the end of the film just long enough to be able
to put her name in the credits. It has a few slightly creepy scenes but most
of it plays out like hash and beans. It leads you up the garden path of thinking
this will be one of Shaw's erotic films - in particular casting Ai Ti as
the ghost - but it never quite gets there. Just a silly ghost story. Sort
of.
Man-yeh's friend tries to convince him to give up this life of debauchery
and get married but he isn't interested. He is even introduced to the daughter
of a wealthy man but walks out when he sees her. A few nights later he wanders
into that courtyard - hmmm - this was empty yesterday and sees Zhou Li-qing
playing her instrument. He gets flirty - he either seduces or is seduced
faster than I can eat a sandwich. But wakes up the next morning with his
clothes still on. What the hell. Didn't we? He is kicked out as daybreak
approaches. His friend runs into him and says I saw you last night making
out with a skeleton - what was that all about. We have to have standards.
Thinking Li-qing is a ghost he still goes back the following night because
men are dogs and Li-qing looks like Ai Ti who was one of the more beautiful
of Shaw's erotic actresses and nicknamed The Sex Bomb.. I mean who could
really blame him. The perfect relationship in fact. You only see her at night.
But then he begins to get sick. There is a twist coming that I weirdly saw
miles away - either because I am a genius or I have seen too many films or
there is a big giveaway early in the film. I will go with B and C.
