This film is considered the most emblematic of the many musicals that Grace Chang starred in. Li Kailing (Chang), brought up in a happy family, is a cheerful party girl nicknamed 'Mambo Girl' who loves dancing with her friends. Overhearing about her being adopted, she starts a search for her biological mother by cruising nightclubs. Evan Yang's deft and smooth camerawork captures the group dance scenes effortlessly, with a case in point being the film's opening. A close-up shot of Chang's Harlequin pants that match the floor's pattern zooms out to her leading the group into an exuberant dance. Mambo Girl perfectly encapsulates the character's high spirit while signalling the director's positive attitude toward dancing which differs from society's notions at the time. Amid the many ebullient song and dance numbers, the female lead undergoes an identity crisis before all goes well in the end. The liberated and carefree atmosphere that ushered in an era of youth-driven films is also indicative of how Hong Kong gradually emerged from the gloom of war to merrier times.

Courtesy of Cathay-Keris Films Pte Ltd

# Post-screening talk with Shu Kei

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