Sha dan ying

Like other trash flicks about strong women from the period, whether from the Far East or the US, this contribution to the genre from the Hong Kong movie factory Shaw Brothers straddles the line between progressive emancipation and objectifying exploitation. Nevertheless, Big Bad Sis is appealing as an attempt to create an absolutely feminine alternative to the dominant macho stories about honourable gangsters, and not just by making a differently cast variation on such films. However, it is necessary to add that this feminine element sprang from the minds of men in the positions of director, screenwriter and producer. Though the film is related to B-movies about youthful delinquents and paraphrases mafia origin stories, everything is tied together in the context of a feminine melodrama. The title protagonist thus does not build a criminal empire, but rather a commune with the aim of helping other girls from the factory where she works through fundraisers for mutual financial assistance and by beating the hell out of their philandering partners and their abusive step-fathers. In and of itself, this is a tremendously fresh antithesis of the usual macho power structures built on patriarchal formulas. The film takes a similarly unexpected and even subservice approach to the nude scenes, a mandatory element of the genre that it stages with blatant absurdity – from the nonsensical rendezvous of the nude participants on bicycles in the forest to the grandiosely drawn-out and overwrought bedroom scene shot through a glass bed, evoking the formalistic sets in the films of Seijun Suzuki. On the other hand, the filmmakers were evidently afraid to be too progressive and thus regularly diminished the virtues of their work by boorishly ridiculing the supporting female characters, particularly with their girly way of fighting, as well as with outrageous adherence to the basic tenets of the status quo (so the protagonist would rather suffer for compassionately letting her father win at a mafia-run casino, where he came to squander the family’s and the company’s savings, instead of slapping him for being an irresponsible idiot). The film similarly relies on cameos by male stars rather than letting the heroines carry the film themselves. It’s thus not at all surprising that everything ends with a regulation formulaic ending in accordance with the rules of the time that called for any offenses against the law to be punished, so the female protagonist remains dependent on help from her male protectors. However, it is thus all the more pleasantly surprising that she is given the satisfaction of eliminating the main bad guy, which is a privilege that is often denied to many other strong female characters in genre movies. Big Bad Sis, which is rather an overlooked title in the filmography of the Shaw Brothers studio, is thus surprising as an unexpectedly stimulating, entertaining and progressive work. It can definitely be seen as one of the key antecedents of the ’80s wave of girls-with-guns movies and the elements and principles thereof. Furthermore, it boasts an impressive action-packed climax in a sand quarry, whose dynamism and drama are enhanced by excellent choreography and imaginative use of the setting for various action passages ranging from chases to fights, as well as interspersing the action with several deadlines and motivations of the characters. (30.09.2023) (weniger) (mehr)