Why prostitution drama Queen of Temple Street is one of the best Hong Kong films ever made
Starring Sylvia Chang, Queen of Temple Street is a gritty drama about a brothel operator, her daughter and the prostitutes who work for her
Although it is not often screened today, Queen of Temple Street (1990) deserves to be recognised as one of the best films ever made in Hong Kong.
Directed by Lawrence Lau Kwok-cheong(also known as Lawrence Ah Mon), the drama about the relationships between a Mong Kok madam, the prostitutes who work for her, and her own family is shot in a free-ranging social-realist style that carefully avoids portraying any of the characters in a clichéd way.
Moreover, there is not a hint of moralising in the story. Lau did not seek to “educate” his audience about the dangers of prostitution. Instead, he made a down-to-earth drama that simply presented life as it was, and the result is all the more heartwarming and touching for that.
“Queen of Temple Street is the best Cantonese film to be produced in a long time,” wrote Paul Fonoroff in the Post in 1990. “Realistic, unsentimental, alternately hilarious and moving, Queen of Temple Street proves that it is possible for Cantonese cinema to be both subtle and entertaining.”
