Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing

Back when romances needed little more than exotic locales, swooning violins in the music score and William Holden's cleanly shaved oil barrel torso. If you're one of those peacenik types you can throw in some cross-cultural understanding and get a load of Oscar nominations as a bonus. The kindest evaluation of a film like this necessitates putting it in the context of its era because by any modern standard it's painfully insipid.

Very much a romance of its times with a glossy veneer that makes everything distanced and slightly artificial. Yet, underneath that is a very good tragic romance that does a great job of focusing on the sweet moments and characters. There are obstacles and down moments, but the film avoids wallowing in them or using them for excessive dramatic effect, while still giving them narrative and emotional heft. It's a balancing act that makes the effectiveness of the film fragile, but it worked well.

I'm all for Hong Kong getting the glamor treatment, and it does, with plenty of nice things to say of the art direction, from our star's unending wardrobe of cheongsams to the excellent lighting. (Also, for better or worse, the front of a wave of "hit theme songs".) As to inhabitants, I don't know that they're ever quite so witty or romantic as the script would have them; Holden is an especially dry hunk of driftwood (who Jones couldn't stand). The hilltop scene was kind of nice, though.

I see most folks don't like this film, but as an American in Asia - I can truly related to this story.

Nice enough to look at with all the necessary characters,locations and sweeping music to make a love story, But it is pretty much of the time in its treatment of racial issues including the casting.