Born in Vietnam in 1927, Pan Lei later immigrated to Taiwan after doing time with the army back in 1943 and joined the Shaw Brothers Studio in 1963 as scriptwriter and director which resulted in “Lovers' Rock” starring the young and beautiful new star Cheng Pei Pei. Selected as Taiwan's nomination for Best Foreign Language Film at the 37th Academy Awards but not making the shortlist, this Taiwanese film nonetheless did generate fame for both Cheng and Pan.
During the bus ride returning home from the city to her small remote fishing village in Taiwan after her graduation, a young girl from a rich family, Lin Qiu Zi (Cheng Pei Pei) becomes friendly with a young man Qin Yu (Chiao Chuang). Qin immediately takes a shine to her and decides to stay in her village and hooks up with a local fisherman Su Da Gui (Huang Chung Hsin) who had just returned from the sea. The headstrong and rugged Su and Lin are actually childhood friends and now with the presence of Qin who obviously loves her, the situation has turned into a love triangle. Meanwhile, local village girl Ah Fung (Wen Ling) has likewise fallen for fisherman Su, consequently making things more complicated, which is basically the plot line of this family melodrama.
By filming in real locations using An Peng Kang, a harbor town in Taiwan as the film's fishing village and the Yehliu Promontory in Wanli district in Taipei which is famous for its beautiful rock formations, Pan made his film more refreshing and allowed it to stand out from most Shaw productions. Another interesting aspect is the inclusion of the colorful inhabitants plus their customs and ceremonies like dragon dancing, a procession with participants dressed in traditional costume wonderfully captured like a documentary under Pan's keen camera. Furthermore, together with his thoughtful script and his focus on good acting, Pan has given the viewers a believable setting for things to happen.
For her rather rare role as the confused modern teenager, ravishing Cheng Pei Pei plays her part fairly well, though her pouting around might put some viewers off. Then again, this is her first leading role and she is playing a spoiled tomboyish teenager after all. Even so, she would become a much bigger star in the Shaw universe and even more so after “Come Drink with Me” (1966) and this was indeed a great stepping stone for her film career. Besides, she looks fantastic in both her cheongsam and modern clothes, especially when she lets down her long black hair.
The acting from all the leads is adequately solid all round, but Huang Chung Hsin stands out the most as the scruffy fisherman Su Da Qui. The rough and ready bad-tempered Su would go out to sea and fish even in bad weather, thus making his poor mother worried sick about him not coming back. In fact, his behavior and his old boat with a rundown engine is the running joke throughout the film.
Young and handsome Chiao Chuang plays the well-educated outsider Qin Yu and does a respectable job in portraying someone who doesn't quite fit into his new environment. A total contrast to the flawed local Su but he does look like a worthy match for the young and luminous Lin. But one can feel that the locals are resentful towards outsiders and there is even a class conflict among them. The perky Wen Ling plays a local village girl Ah Fung who takes a shine to Su, and is also memorable. The rest of the supporting characters are equally delightful and they blend in perfectly in the fishing village.
No stranger to Taiwanese cinema, Pan Lei is the perfect director for this melodrama set in Taiwan and a great way for Shaw Brothers to expand their empire outside of Hong Kong. The plot is typical of most romantic films made during its time but his use of Taiwan's famous locations is what makes this production unique and to stand out. Together with strong acting from the three leads, this fishing village melodrama is still an entertaining watch.
