The Young Ones
(Cai yun fei)

In the 1960s, Lee Hsing was the first to bring to the big screen several novels by the Taiwanese author Chiung Yao, whose works still among the most widely read in Mandarin Chinese literature. After Four Loves (1965) and The Silent Life (1970), The Young Ones (1973) further develops the melodramatic tonality of a love story, making the film a huge popular success across all Southeast Asia. The casting did much to help. Arriving in Taipei from Hong Kong, student Yun-Lau (Alan Tang) stays with friends of his parents. He falls in love with their daughter Hai-Ni (Chen Chen) who has suffered from ill health since childhood and needs to avoid any kind of turmoil. Following Hai-Ni’s death, the inconsolable Yun-Lau meets a singer who looks bears a strong resemblance to her. JB