1955 | B&W | 136′ | DCP Director/Screenwriter: Lee Sun-fung Original Story: Ba Jin Cinematographer: Suen Lun, Ngai Hoi-fung Cast: Ng Cho-fan, Pak Yin, Wong Man-lei, Lee Ching, Wong Cho-shan In Cantonese with Chinese and English subtitles One of the Hong Kong Film Archive’s 100 Must-see Hong Kong Movies Post-screening talk in Cantonese Speaker: Sam Ho (Curator and film researcher) A masterpiece directed and written by Lee Sun-fung, one of Cantonese cinema’s bests. It Was a Cold Winter Night is the story of a man, his wife and his mother during and after World War II, the difficulties of their relationship coalesced from the weight of traditions, the burden of national crisis and the clash of personalities. An educated man whose ideal has been crushed by forces beyond his control – the war, the resulting economy and the decaying societal practices – he is torn between a mother holding stubbornly onto traditional values and a wife who embraces modern beliefs with delicate but steadfast resolve. The conflict between mother and daughter-in-law is a recurring plot in 1950s Hong Kong cinema, an archetypal situation at once reality based and powerfully metaphoric. Here, the vivid characterisations and heart-wrenching emotions of the drama hauntingly address the nuanced but profound difficulties of the Chinese people adjusting to modernity. Based on the novel Wintry Night, written by influential writer Ba Jin in 1946 and adapted on screen almost a decade later in Hong Kong, the film has an ending that also serves as an evocative testimony to how things had changed in those dramatic post-war years. Lee’s effective use of the family melodrama’s genre conventions and evocative mise-en-scène are complemented by superb performances by stars Ng Cho-fan, Pak Yin and Wong Man-lei. The film is widely and deservedly recognised as an emblem of Cantonese cinema’s 1950s Golden Age and is one of the 100 Must-see Hong Kong Movies listed by the Hong Kong Film Archive. The quality of the image and sound of the screened version is short of ideal. We appreciate your understanding.
21/09/2025(Sun)13:00
$75