Facets of Love — Facets of Love (Blu Ray)
Facets of Love is an early 1970s blend of period drama and light sex comedy. The Hong Kong-made/ Shaw Brothers-produced film is set in a Ming Dynasty brothel, taking in a few different stories with a young/non-fighting Jackie Chang appearing in one of these. The picture balances well enough drama & light humour- with fleeting moments of female flesh and low-key torture. Here from 88 Films is a recent release of the film, taking an HD scan of the picture- this makes the flamboyant & colourful costume drama elements really pop ‘n’ sparkly.
Facets of Love ( aka Bei Di Yan Zhi ) is from 1973. It was written & directed by Jinxi, China-born Han Hsiang Li. Between the mid-1950s and late 1990s, he had seventy-nine features to his name. These went from ancient China set musical romance Diao Charn (1958), onto the rather oddly titled Rear Entrance(1960) which is apparently an adoption-focused family drama. Though to War-thriller Storm Over the Yangtse River(1969), the romantic comedy That's Adultery! (1975), and horror anthology Return of the Dead(1979).
The film comes in at the one hour and thirty-eight-minute mark. It's made up of one key story, and three or four stories/flashbacks. The film is mainly set in the Ming Dynasty, in a multi-floored brotherly that sits at the end of a bustling street.
The main/lead/ wraparound story regards Da-Qin (Yu Feng) who is tricked into going to work at the brothel, and for the first half or so of the film, we see her pushing against working as a prostitute- being beaten & threatened with branding by the brothel's madame & her male henchmen.
As for the other stories- we get a flashback finding out how Da-Qin landed up in the brothel. There’s a story about a young emperor who beds many women, to unfortunate results. And lastly, a young emperor who pretends to be a simple warrior, this story features a group of playful/ naughty ghosts, a few songs, and Jackie Chang playing the emperor.
The film's drama unfolds engagingly enough- with touches of humour here and there. The sets and the costumes look all very good- with some great shots of panning up & through the brothel set. As for the fleshy/ sleaze side of things, we have topless shots and mild softcore. With a few fleeting elements of nude whippings/ torture. We have a few moments of fleeting violence, and as already mentioned a few songs in the last story- which I could just about tolerate - as I’m not the biggest fan of musicals.
The new Blu-Ray features a new HD scan- this is very well defined in its colour and depth. The only extras we find on the disc are a trailer and a stills gallery.
Facets of Love is a rewarding enough blend of period drama and light sex comedy, with an eventful pace and a few memorable characters. If you are looking for an all-out flesh feast/ lots of sleaze you won't find it here, but if you are after a well-made, colourful, and engaging blend of genres this is fine, and it’s great to see a young Jackie Chang too. Drop in here to buy direct