Starring David Chiang, Ti Lung, Chen Kuan-Tai, Agnes Chan Mei-Ling, Irene Chen Yi-Ling, Wu Ma, Chin Feng, Lo Dik, Wong Chung, Bolo Yeung, Sze-Ma Wah-Lung
Directed by Chang Cheh
Expectations: Very interested, but I don’t know what to expect.
Young People is a movie that I can see a lot of people hating, especially those who notice the combo of Chang Cheh directing Ti Lung, Chen Kuan-Tai and David Chiang in the lead roles and expect a heroic struggle of martial brotherhood. Young People is definitely not that, although oddly enough it is about brotherhood (or at least working together). Different doesn’t necessarily mean bad, but as an offbeat musical comedy from 1972, it’s pretty much exactly the type of movie that will put a lot of people off. For me, it brought huge smiles to my face throughout. There were a couple of groans, I can’t lie, but for the most part I smiled.
The story of Young People is quite loose and free-flowing in an effort to reflect the young people of its title. At a college in Hong Kong there are three clubs: the Music & Dance club, the Sports club and the Martial Arts club. David Chiang plays Hung Wai, the head of the Music club; Ti Lung plays Lam Tat, the captain of the sports club; and Chen Kuan-Tai plays Ho Tai, the leader of the martial arts club. Each student is like a star among their fellow club members, garnering respect and admiration, but the other groups do not return the favor. They tease one another and fight for ridiculous, petty reasons. Y’know… like young people do. So the “story” involves each of the three clubs competing in a tournament, only each club is unable to win on their own.
Your enjoyment of Young People will hinge on your enjoyment of four basic things: basketball, martial arts, super sugary song and dance covers, and go-karts. It also hinges on your enjoyment of these specific actors and the general Shaw flavor that all of their films have, but I’ll assume you definitely like these elements if you’re this far into the review. In any case, the three tournaments take up huge chunks of the film, so if you don’t enjoy them the film could be incredibly boring. I love basketball, so seeing Ti Lung, Bolo Yeung and the rest of the boys shootin’ hoops for Chang Cheh’s camera was a supreme joy. Chang Cheh shoots the game interestingly, too, with my favorite shot snap-zooming out from a medium shot of the game’s tip-off to a full-court vantage point high above the game. Chang also uses slow-motion and purposefully comedic fast-motion to keep the game from getting dull. I loved it, but I can’t fault anyone who thinks it’s a little too long.
The other key to the puzzle of Young People is the character of Princess (Irene Chen Yi-Ling). At the film’s outset she is dating Ho Tai, but she is a fair-weather girlfriend, so she becomes Lam Tat’s sweetheart after he wins the basketball tournament. She even has a photo cut-out of herself on her wall, with space for the guy of the week. Princess’s character is largely just around for laughs, but she ultimately proves the point of the film. It is important to be loyal and true to those around you, otherwise you’ll be left alone. But a film as flamboyant and joyous as Young People can’t be that serious for too long, so even this moral point is muted in the name of entertainment.
Next up in this chronological jaunt through the Shaw Brothers Martial Arts catalog is the epic film The Fourteen Amazons from director Cheng Kang! See ya then!