Facets of Love

When it comes to sexy historical epics, Shaw Brothers could swing with the best of them.  In fact, one of the more interesting parts of the boutique video boom is getting to see titles like 1973’s Facets of Love which don’t quite fit into any easily exportable genre.  Part softcore, part S & M, part melodrama, part operatic comedy, it’s a film not really meant for anyone outside of Hong Kong to begin with…which makes it so fascinating to watch.

What begins as the tragic story of a young woman sold into sexual slavery turns into a breezy anthology film, branching into three separate stories all set in and around the red-light district’s most famous brothel.  Stories one and two revolve around a pair of Ming dynasty emperors who visit incognito to fulfill their desires.  The first emperor is so enamored of the experience he hires two fellow customers to show him the pleasures hidden in every back alley.  But the price to his health winds up costing more than even a member of the royal family can pay.  While story three becomes a light-hearted fable with spirits watching over the romantic adventures of yet another emperor in disguise looking for his true love.

 

Director Li Han-Hsiang was no stranger to impassioned period pieces; and neither was most of his cast.  Asian cinephiles will get a kick out of celebrity spotting in this one.  Even Jackie Chan gets a choice part in the third entry.  But unlike some of the director’s more elaborate efforts at historical accuracy (check out Hsi Shih: Beauty of Beauties to see what he could do with a real budget), Facets of Love waffles between callous exhibitionism and playful sauciness.  It’s an uneasy mix but certainly keeps viewers on their toes.

 

The final story – which also happens to be the least gratuitous – is by far the most entertaining.  Narrated in song and leaning into slapstick comedy, it’s mischievous tone and almost chaste take on prostitution is a far cry from where the film starts out.  That’s not to say that Li Han-Hsiang doesn’t bring something to the table in every segment, making the most of the elaborate sets with wide-angle camera shots. Facets of Love is a grab bag of homegrown legends and exploitation influences that bump up against one another in an amusingly unique way.

 

88 Films gives this one its U.S. Blu-ray premiere with a transfer from the original camera negative that’s impressive from frame one.  English subtitles with a Mandarin mono audio track is the only audio option, but extras include a stills gallery, trailer, lobby cards, reversible cover art and slipcover.

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