Reviewed by: Stephe Date: 01/27/2011 In comparison to the rather leisurely first installment, the melodrama escalates exponentially in A Story of Three Loves Pt. 2. Street performer Jeanette, who is indebted to Zhao Lei after he saved her father's life by paying for him to be treated by Western medicine in Pt. 1, infiltrates the general's mansion under the guise of the poor Grace's maid in order to secretly help Zhao Lei, and is forced to sublimate her love for Zhao Lei by helping the poor Grace. So, too, does the aristocratic woman who looks like the poor Grace sublimate her love for Zhao Lei by trying to help him despite learning of his betrothal to the poor Grace and despite wanting to marry Zhao Lei herself. Trapped by the general and forced to disavow Zhao Lei, the poor Grace is eventually driven to the point of madness, and her portrayal goes beyond the shrieking hysterics she displayed in Pt. 1. Jeanette's role expands as she becomes the new focal point of the general's attentions. I ultimately found this two-part film more enjoyable than the two-part Sun, Moon and Star because I found Zhao Lei's character easier to identify with than Zhang Yang's drippy, clueless character in Sun, Moon and Star. Both two-parters are epic love stories about three women in love with the same man, and both are memorable, but Zhang Yang taints Sun, Moon and Star with his character. I thought he did much the same to the ending of The Wild, Wild Rose, actually. Anyways, the one-note performance Zhao Wei gave in the first half of A Story of Three Loves gives way to a wider range of emotion as things come to a boil, and he becomes much more engaging. Between Tears And Smiles is Shaw Brothers' version of this two-part epic. Reviewer Score: 8