1991 | Colour | 96′ | 35mm
Director: Maisy Choi
Screenwriters: Sylvia Chang, Maisy Choi, Brenda Lo, Eveline Au
Cinematographer: Jingle Ma
Cast: Sally Yeh, Sylvia Chang, John Shum, Derek Yee, David Wu
In Cantonese with Chinese and English subtitles
Post-screening talk in Cantonese
Speaker: Caily Mak
This is a Hong Kong “sistory” long ahead of its time and, being a story about two sisters, a sistory in more ways than one! Sylvia Chang acts in, co-writes and produces Sisters of the World Unite, a light comedy and urban drama about the pair’s ventures to find balance between romance, marriage, age, work, parenthood and their environment. In other words, the life of a woman. Or life in general.
The film follows the sisters as they negotiate their respective man problems, which have been avoided or neglected. The drama is complemented with otherwise bypassed but actually interesting details of everyday life. The director and co-writers formulate the seemingly mundane complexity in smooth storytelling, punctuated with sometimes comical, sometimes lyrical moments and sometimes profound dialogue.
It is interesting to note that the Chinese title of the film directly translates as “Sasa and Gaga Stand Up” but the characters are named Sally and Sylvia in the English subtitles, using the lead actresses’ real names, hinting at the reality that contributes to the chemistry between the actresses. Also noteworthy: there are more women in the creative team if the production than most films of its time.