China Girl (1987)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Abel Ferrara

Writer:

Nicholas St. John (writer)

Release Date:

25 September 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

A modern day Romeo & Juliet story is told in New York when an Italian boy and a Chinese girl become lovers...

Plot Keywords:

Gang | Chinese Girl | Chinese | Italian | Romeo And Juliet Plot

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

James Russo	...	Alby
Richard Panebianco	...	Tony
Sari Chang	...	Tye
David Caruso	...	Mercury
Russell Wong	...	Yung Gan
Joey Chin	...	Tsu Shin
Judith Malina	...	Mrs. Monte
James Hong	...	Gung Tu
Robert Miano	...	Enrico Perito
Paul Hipp	...	Nino
Doreen Chan	...	Gau Shing
Randy Sabusawa	...	Ma Fan
Keenan Leung	...	Ying Tz
Lum Chang Pan	...	Da Shan
Sammy Lee	...	Mohawk

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | UK:18 (cut) | Australia:R | Sweden:15 | USA:R | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Great American Films Limited Partnership

Trivia:

Out of all of the films he has directed, Abel Ferrara has stated that China Girl is his favorite.

Quotes:

Enrico Perito: "You wanna be a wiseguy Alby?"

Movie Connections:

Referenced in A Short Film About the Long Career of Abel Ferrara (2004) (V)

Soundtrack:

La Donna Mobile

Okay action flick almost done in by the lack of chemistry between two leads

ROMEO AND JULIET begat WEST SIDE STORY which begat CHINA GIRL. To say the plot of CHINA GIRL is good is stating the obvious: how are you going to improve on Shakespear? Story old as time there are two young lovers who meet at a party and fall in love while dancing together. They come from feauding families. The boy is Italian and the girl is Chinese in this case. They both have friends and family who are hoodlums. They are continually told to stay in thier own neighborhoods, but of course this leads to them sneaking around to meet. Both leads are attractive but not great actors. The thing that annoyed me about this film was the lack of chemistry. Watch the sex scene. Look at the girls face. She does not even seem to be enjoying herself, let alone in passionate rapture. This is the sort of sex scene usually seen in movies about sad, poor, or even drug hazed people. The storyline needs to capitalize on these two being so in love they cant bare to be apart, and thier lack of chemistry muddles this.