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宋家皇朝 (1997)
The Soong Sisters


Reviewed by: danton
Date: 01/03/2002

Gorgeous looking epic that's a little too heavy on melodrama and treats the historic events as mere backdrop for the personal upheavals of the 3 heroines. Directed by Mabel Cheung, the film features Maggie Cheung, Vivian Wu and Michelle Yeoh as the three famous sisters. The actors are dubbed for the most part (movie was shot in Mandarin).

Even though I found the movie slightly disappointing, I'd nevertheless recommend it, if only because greater familiarity with the historic events and personalities depicted here (forming of the Chinese Republic by Sun Yat-Sen, conflict between Nationalists and Communists, etc.) is an important aspect of understanding references/themes that reoccur in many HK movies. Unfortunately, the movie doesn't give this more than a cursory and rather superficial treatment (the fact that the movie was heavily censored by the Communist authorities probably didn't help either).

Mabel Cheung makes it quite obvious that the 3 sisters are supposed to represent the 3 Chinas. Michelle (she has a rather small role) plays the materialistic older sister who marries a rich banker and moves to HK. Maggie Cheung plays the idealistic middle sister who marries Dr. Sun and becomes a Communist icon. And Vivian Wu is the power-hungry youngest sister, who marries Chiang Kei-Shek and becomes the First Lady of Taiwan. Despite the best efforts of the actresses, these characters remain rather lifeless, because of the week script that merely moves them from one historic tableau to another. Some of these tableaus are impressively staged, but they feel oddly lifeless and without the energy and drama befitting such momentous events in China's history. Moreover, the script stays mostly on the surface - we don't really get to see what these people think, why they choose certain directions, what drives and motivates them. And to be honest, when it comes to a movie using three actresses to symbolize the three China's, I'd rather watch Heroic Trio...

That being said, the movie does look very good. Mabel Cheung certainly knows how to make pretty pictures, and perhaps you can't really do this one justice unless you watch it on the big screen. Marginal recommendation.


Reviewed by: MrBooth
Date: 10/09/2001
Summary: Sumptuous

THE SOONG SISTERS (1997) - Epic historical piece covering the lives of 3 sisters from a wealthy family, each of whom would have an impact on Chinese history throughout the 20th century. Older sister Michelle Yeoh marries a rich banker (her story isn't covered much), middle sister Maggie Cheung marries the infamous Sun Yat Sen (leader of the first revolution and the Communist Party), and youngest sister Vivian Wu marries his successor and rival (Chiang Kai-shek), leader of the Nationalist party. Maggie's story gets the largest screen - she is an idealist who cares about her country and the revolution above all except her love for Sun Yat Sen. This love causes conflict with her father that nearly tears the family apart. Vivian Wu just dominates the second half of the film - power is her main motivation for marriage (and envy of Maggie). The politics and the history of China's struggles with revolution, invasion and corruption are well balanced with the family lives. It makes for very interesting viewing. The production is lavish - great sets, costumes and make up etc totally create the impression of the times the movie covers. The cinematography & sound are very atmospheric. It's well written too, and for once we get perfect English for the subtitles! They're still small (Chinese & English burnt in), but at least they carry the mood of the piece well. The soundtrack is only available in Mandarin - I don't know if that's how it should be, as obviously it means that Maggie & Michelle have been dubbed by somebody else. Recommended regardless.


Reviewed by: shelly
Date: 05/25/2001

The terrible censorship struggles that Cheung Yuen-ting and Alex Law Kai-yui confronted to make the Soong Sisters in the PRC only partially explain the complex failure of this film. It's possible to have various reactions to it at the same time: as spectacle, the film is splendid. Sumptuous period recreations create a sustained level of visual power. And several key scenes (Chiang Kai-shek's response to student protestors; the night-time airplane landing) draw their power precisely from how they look, how they are shot. But the screenplay, and consequentally the performances, seem bogged down: by the weight of their historical significance? by the burden of morally uplifting storytelling that Cheung and Law seem to be labouring under? Too often, the film trudges through its duty to register China's complex, ambiguous history through the lives of its glamourous principal characters. So the film veers towards cliche, with its characters shrinking to embodying various principles, causes and options for the Nation. We end up discovering precious little about the sisters, as individuals, and what we learn of the Nation seems generalized, text-book-shaped. Stand out performances, though, by Wu Hsing-kuo, as a mesmerizingly charismatic Chiang Kai-shek, Jiang Wen, as an ebullient Charlie Soong, and Maggie Cheung, who almost manages to bring Soong Ching-ling to life.


Reviewed by: hkcinema
Date: 12/08/1999

Late in the Qin Dynasty, the government was corrupted and thecitizens' lives were difficult. Having escaped to America in his childhood and receiving an education there, missionary Charlie Soong rose to wealth due to investments. He had 3 sons and 3 daughters, all of whom grew up under his wholeheartedly care, no matter if they were boys or girls. His three sons became important officials in the new Republic respectively and quickly rose to power; his three daughters Oi Ling, Hing Ling, and Mei Ling didn't let up either, as each held her own goals and separately married the three most important men in China at the time.

[Reviewed by Next Magazine]