Chin Mei

The Bride Who Has Returned From Hell (or Bride in Hell) is an adaption of The Mistress from Melynn, a 1960 novel by Victoria Holt. The story begins when a yacht is lost at sea. Then a telephone call between male protagonist Wang Yiming (Ke Junxiong) and his cousin Gao Fengjiao (Liu Qing) reveals that Wang’s wife has perished while eloping with a neighbor. After female protagonist Bai Ruimei (Jin Mei) learns that her older sister Ruiyun – Wang’s wife – has died, Ruimei changes her identity and applies for a job as a tutor to Wang’s daughter Shuyuan in a bid to solve the mysteries surrounding her sister’s death.

The film depicts the trials and tribulations of Yu Qin (Jade Zither), who, after being sent to prison and subsequently working as a nightclub singer, eventually dies, then is resurrected and reunited with her lover Wen De.

In the prelude to this martial arts film, bandits kill a former sheriff and his wife. A servant carries their three little daughters to safety, but they grow up apart. Fifteen years later, each girl sets out to seek revenge. Eldest sister Xiufeng disguises herself as a man, performing acts of chivalry as she seeks out the bandits. Along the way, she runs across her sisters, Qingfeng and Zhifeng. They are entranced by the handsome stranger. Will Qingfeng and Zhifeng figure out he is in fact their sister, Xiufeng? Will the three "feng" girls (phoenixes) find the bandits and avenge their parents?

Nightclub singer Chun-mei falls for violinist Cheng-hsiung, who writes her a birthday melody. Her father's illness, debt, and violence force them apart. Directed by Japanese filmmaker Yuasa Namio with a transnational cast, the Mandarin feature is followed by a Taiwanese-language trailer. When the same faces and scenes speak in different languages, dubbing alters character, emotional distance, market position, and cinematic identity, while the gap invites us to imagine its lost Taiwanese soundtrack.

Bun-de (Wen-de in Mandarin, played by Shi Jun/Shih Chun) is a shy young man. Aggressively courted by all the girls in the neighbourhood, he only has eyes for the pretty and mischievous Gui-kia (Jin Mei/Chin Mei). She finds every means possible to meet up with her boyfriend, although he is closely watched over by a very protective father, A-Gao. When the parents finally agree on the wedding, they realise that they used to be in love. Accusing each other of betrayal, they refuse to allow their children to marry. Bunde and Gui-kia decide to elope.

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Tsi-Bing is living a wealthy and successful life. However, he is manipulated by his mistress into believing that his wife is having an affair and he throws her out. After his mistress vanishes with his money, Tsi-Bing is forced to relocate to a makeshift home with his three children, who take on various jobs, such as selling rice dumplings, to make ends meet. The story centers on a man who loses his social and economic status but manages to regain his place in his family through sacrifices – much like the experience of female protagonists in melodramas. This male-centric narrative was recognized as part of a subgenre of Taiwanese-language melodrama. The depictions of a powerful male figure losing his power before finally turning the tide, and a woman able to support herself after leaving home, both suggest the changing attitudes of the late 60s as people were less convinced of the perfect family, but could still find beauty in its cause.

Tshui-Giok’s step-father sells her to a club to pay off his debt. But when her boyfriend, Kok-Liong, learns about it he helps get her out and plans to marry her. However, Kok-Liong’s mother disapproves of the marriage and arranges for him to marry a wealthy girl, Hun-Kiau. Years later, when Kok-Liong and Tshui-Giok meet again, all their feelings return. Though Tshui-Giok ultimately decides to break up with Kok-Liong for the sake of Hun-Kiau, her leaving drives Kok-Liong mad and Hun-Kiau has no choice but to set Kok-Liong free, so he and Tshui-Giok can be together.