The Story of Sue San

King Hu's first film is a romantic drama with strong musical influences, made for the Shaw Bros studios. Because of that, it's somewhat of an outlier in his oeuvre, but people familiar with his work are sure to recognize Hu's tranquil directorial style. That at least made it an interesting watch.

The film revolves around Chin-Lung Wang, the son of a wealthy minister, who falls in love with Sue San, a prostitute. As their relationship grows stronger, Wang wants to buy off Sue San's deb. When he informs his father of his plan, he disowns Wang right away. Wang won't give up though and looks for other ways to get the money.

The plot is pretty basic, the musical elements are woven through the film and pop up once in a while to hold up the plot. Luckily the cinematography is above average and the pacing is solid. I don't think I'll ever become a fan of Chinese operas, but from all the early Shaw Bros musicals I've seen so far this was definitely one of the better ones.