Monday, January 12, 2009
Wells Up in My Heart (1981)
The best about this movie is its leading actor Liu Wen Zheng and leading actress Luu Xiu Ling, both are very lovely to watch and have great screen chemistry. Interestingly, both are very talented artists outside the cinema. Liu Wen Zheng was a very popular singer in 70's Taiwan. He sang all the theme songs in this movie. His albums are still sold as classics nowadays. Luu Xing Ling is a top Er-Hu (a Chinese musical instrument) player and has recorded her own albums. The story is about a common girl marrying a rich guy, but Qiong Yao manages to make the story fun to watch. It begins with Xia Ying Lan, a fresh graduate out of school looking for her first job in Taipei, interviewing for a position as secretary to chairman Xiao Bin. She beats her 7 competitors for the job with quick wit, light humor, and unusual beauty. When she walks out the corporate building with the job offer in her hand, she meets a young and handsome guy nicknamed Ah Qi, an office boy who tries to make a friend with her. Ah Qi tells her about the Xiao family's history of marrying their own secretaries, and bets that she will marry another Xiao member in three years following the trend. Ying Lan swears she's not up for the money and won't marry anyone from the rich Xiao family. Ah Qi and Ying Lan quickly become friends and frequently go to lunch together. Ah Qi doesn't want to reveal his full name or background, and requests Ying Lan not to ask. Ying Lan misunderstands that it's because he is self-conscious due to his low rank in the company, and that her "class" as an executive secretary scares him. So she agrees not to ask anything more about him and the two start dating. One day, a drunk intruder named Li Zhi Wei storms into Ying Lan's office and tries to kidnap her. Ah Qi comes in and fights with Zhi Wei until Li gets off Ying Lan. Ying Lan later learns that Li Zhi Wei was an ex-boyfriend of Xiao Bin's daughter-in-law, Zhu Cai Wei. When Cai Wei and Zhi Wei were together, Xiao Bin's elder son Xiao Ren Yang competes with Zhi Wei and successfully wins the heart of Cai Wei. After his loss in the battle of love, Zhi Wei becomes a frequent drunk and once in a while seeks trouble with the Xiao's family. Zhi Wei was once a friend of Ah Qi, so he quickly learns about Ah Qi's relationship with Ying Lan. In no time Zhi Wei reveals a shocking truth to Ying Lan - Ah Qi's real name is Xiao Ren Qi, the younger son of Xiao Bin. Zhi Wei convinces Ying Lan that Ah Qi lied to her the whole time in order to test if she loved his money or him as a person. That's only half the story. Ah Qi wholeheartedly apologizes to Ying Lan and explains to her that because of his brother's then-triangular relationship with Cai Wei and Zhi Wei, he wants to be sure that anyone whom he loves judges him only on his personality and not on his enormous wealth. During their courtship, he wanted to reveal the truth about himself to Ying Lan but is very scared that she would think he doesn't trust her character. Ying Lan is enraged upon learning the truth, and sadly breaks up with Ah Qi/Xiao Ren Qi with a push from Li Zhi Wei, who tries to revenge the Xiao's for taking his love. Ying Lan still loves Ah Qi, but anger weighs too heavily on her mind over love right now. Ah Qi fails to reconcile with Ying Lan, and when he sees Zhi Wei in Ying Lan's apartment, he thinks they are a couple, and escapes the heartbreak to the United States. But he leaves his oversea phone number in the hands of Ying Lan. Upon Ai Qi's leave, Ying Lan decides to stay as Xiao Bin's secretary. After several months, Ah Qi gets the word out to Ying Lan about his upcoming marriage to a girl in the States. Ying Lan finally realizes her love of Ai Qi and begs him back. So the two are finally happy together. As a side story, Shao Qing asks Zhi Wei to forget about Cai Wei, and the two become a happy couple. 
In the mid 70's, the famous Taiwanese romance writer Qiong Yao started her own production company with her husband. Up till the early 80's they produced more than 10 movies adapted from Qiong Yao's best selling novels. "Wells Up In My Heart" (Mandarin title Chue Shang Xin Tou) is one of her films in this period.
Zhi Wei quickly befriends with Ying Lan and her roommate Shao Qing. The three parties together often in the girls' apartment.
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