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If the title and Category III logo aren't enough grab a cinemagoer's
attention, a casual synopsis for Barbara Wong's surprising documentary
Women's Private Parts could stir the curious to ticket windows.
Filling up 99 minutes of screen time with frank and colourful interviews,
Wong helms the film to focus on the private lives of Chinese women. Sex,
masturbation, lesbianism, prostitution, mainland mistresses and marriage
are all on the cards for discussion, offering male viewers in particular a
look in on revealing and interesting talk one is rarely privy to.
Shot on video in Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Beijing, straight-up
conversations form much of the footage and are supplemented with Q and A
sessions with a gigolo, kids in the park, masseuses at work and, via
hidden camera, a man's trip to a brothel. Interview subjects seem to range
from the director's friends and acquaintances through to celebrities and,
countering to my expectations going into the theatre, few interviewees'
faces are obscured.
Of particular interest to local film buffs should be a lengthy chat
with former '70s sleaze starlet Siu Yam-yam. Also known under the screen
name Yum Yum Shaw and star of films including Confessions of a
Concubine and Oriental Playgirls, Siu has interesting things to
say about coming to terms with her early adult-oriented work both for
herself and her son as well as in the public eye. Director Ann Hui On-wah
also discusses working in the male-dominated film industry and how she
looks down on men.
The filmmakers offer an interviewing style and subsequent editing that
gives a fly on the wall approach while giving away little about Wong's own
experiences. Folks are at ease in the director's presence, often with wine
on the table, and hopefully conversation isn't being too juiced up for the
cameras. Breaks from the interviews include small inserts of animals or
soft-focus intimacy, and a SM playroom scene with a drag queen. The latter
is out of place here, as too is an irrelevant interview with Singaporean
Annabel Chong of World's Biggest Gang Bang fame. Though possibly
included on the strength of Chong's notoriety value, the lady's
observations on mostly Western men are interesting but suited to a
documentary about guys. The close of the film is satisfying and well
executed, moving down the ages to a four-year-old girl in the playground,
whose final response is compared to the older ladies' comments. The
efficient subtitles are credited to filmmaker Kenneth Bi.
I'm glad to have seen this Mandarin Films Distribution-backed
production without distraction in the cinema but concede that Women's
Private Parts seems better suited to the home. The video footage
doesn't look all that crash hot on the big screen visually but once
released on an inexpensive format, brought into people's apartments and
shared among friends, the film could help spur discussion and broaden
viewers' knowledge more efficiently. The final credits include a note
saying that many interviews didn't make the final cut due to time
constraint (actress/celebrity Wong Ha-wai appears near the end and seems
to be in that group) but could apparently show up on screens in future.
Hopefully fiddling with this remaining footage won't distract the director
from making a similarly enlightening production on the region's men.
From
www.kowloonside.com
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