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THE
ASIAN VALUES DVD REVIEW
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If viewers
were let down by Liu Kei's Adultery, Chinese Style (1973), then
their erotic appetites must have been whetted with Li Han-hsiang's
That's Adultery (1975). Sticking to his tried-and-tested anthology
format, Li had sex bombs Chen Ping and Hu Chin in the cast and,
for good measure, what's a little skin from the usually demure
and prissy "Baby Queen" Li Ching?
But whatever
cast he had lined up, the film would not have worked without the
required sex and nudity. In the first story, Tsung Hua has his
eyes on the four wives of an elderly court official. Viewers get
an idea that these four women (who include Li Ching and Chen Ping)
are not your stuffy types. They seem to be in ecstasy when groping
some door or bell knobs when they are out visiting a temple. Tsung
pretends to be a sedan-chair carrier to gain access into the official's
household and has (together with the viewer) a good time ogling
the official and his wives when they are out for some naughty
sex, which includes a lot of toe licking and sucking, which must
have seem outrageous at the time of the film's release. Tsung
dresses up as the official and, under the cover of night, manages
to bed each of the four women. Nine months later, his deed is
discovered and he meets a fate that is apparently worse than death.
What surely must have warmed the male viewers' cockles is that
there is a good share of sex in this episode and more skin shown
than what is normally expected.
The second
story is set in Japan. While Ku Feng is a conscientious doll maker
(still, he is not above painting couples having sex), he apparently
neglects his much younger wife who decides to have a fling with
customer Wang Hsia while Ku is away during a religious celebration.
Much to their dismay, Ku returns home early and the two lovers
must concoct various tales to explain Wang's presence in the house,
one of which involves Wang hiding inside a large jar in the hall.
The international
or at least Asian slant to the stories continues with the third
episode which takes place in Korea. Yueh Hua, who has been away,
returns for his beloved only to discover that she has married
the local official. But she is not the sort to scoff at a good
thing and figures a way to share her bed with both her sleeping
husband and her lover.
By now, sexpot
Hu Chin has more or less been typecast as the scheming wife who
has a fling or two behind an unsuspecting husband. Her role is
no different in the fourth episode where she is the wife of the
owner of a scissors-and-knife shop. One day, while she is making
out with her lover, the two are photographed by the photographer
who lives across the street. Hu is then blackmailed into having
sex with the photographer but then who should stumble into the
couple? Her husband, of course.
Infused with
Li's trademarks - fine production and camerawork - That's Adultery
is not only entertaining but can also be said to be a cut above
many of the erotic films that came from the house of Shaw simply
because the director stayed with the basics (for a start, competently
photographed bodies without being too much of a tease) and shying
away from the ridiculous, especially where the comedy is concerned.
Inadvertently,
the film also shows that while many women "suffer" the hardship
of being married - in return mainly for the security of a home
- to get the men they really want, they are also able to subvert
the chaste and submissive image they outwardly present. As they
say, that's adultery.
Note:
The That's Adultery DVD is not available in $ingapore.
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Click here for other Asian Values DVD Reviews:
Adultery, Chinese Style
Prosti
Women Of Desire
Tatlo
Hex
Naked Under The Moon
Love Swindler
Virgin People
The Girl With The Long Hair
Tatarin
Sex For Sale
Tatsulok
36 Secrets Of Courtship
Biyaheng Langit
Sexy Girls Of Denmark
Laman
Golden Lotus: Love And Desire
Tuhog (Larger Than Life)
Dreams Of Eroticism
Legends Of Lust
Amorous Woman Of Tang Dynasty
Hong Kong Hong Kong
Kiss Of Death
Crazy Sex
Forbidden Tales Of Two Cities
The Call Girls
