Although the story of "Girl Friend" is never my favorite QY's story, this movie adaptation amazingly conveys the essence and the spirit of the original QY's novel, for this alone, I give my big applaud to the brilliant director Bai Jingrui and the vibrant Charlie Chin, who made it work.

For all Charlie's fans, "Girl Friend" is a special treat because it is solely a Charlie's movie.  Among all the movies starring Brigitte&Charlie that I've seen, this is the one that Charlie totally dominants the screen as the way his character dominants the plot. (Provided by the fact that I am a huge fan of Brigitte, Charlie and the pair of Brigitte&Charlie)

In this 1974 QY's movie based on the true story of Gao Lingfeng, Charlie played the lead character Gao Ling-feng, a cocky idealistic forestry student who wants nothing of his major forestry but a career of singing.  He would finally come to sense to the reality to keep his foot on the ground, to put his pure puppy's love Brigitte behind, and to embrace "the true love" Xiao Fangfang.  A story of a guy's growing up through two love affairs with two girlfriends.  

Except the fact that Charlie can't really sing like the real-life Gao Lingfeng, Charlie played the character Gao Ling-feng with tremendous spirit, energy, and exceptional understanding,  an amazing and convincing performance.  You feel his joy, his pain, his despair and hope, you watch him being so smart and so foolish, you watch him so proud, brave and initiative to pursue his first love (Brigitte), you watch him so beaten up by the cruel reality and lose his girl, you watch him light up again by the his 2nd girlfriend Xiao Fangfang but still confusing and can't forget his first love, you watch him coming to his final awakening.  Charlie may not be the real life figure Gao Lingfeng, but he is the character Gao Ling-feng that QY created in her book, a truthful and genuine performance.

For those Brigitte's fans, you shouldn't forget this is a 1974 movie that Brigitte's acting was still stiff at that time and she wasn't a great beauty and wasn't quite ready to shine yet.  The character Xia Xiao-chan that Brigitte played is a timid, hesitant girl, who is never strong enough to fight for her will or even make her own decisions.  She is practically engaged to He Huai-zu (played by Shi Xiu), a straight A engineering student, but she falls for the vivid Gao Ling-feng (Charlie) who trembles her heart with enormous passion.  However, under the pressure of her parents' objection, she accepts to leave Gao Ling-feng and eventually marries to their will, which proves to be so wise and she becomes the happy and content Mrs. He Huai-zu when his husband gloriously returns to TW as a renown scientist.  

Although Brigitte was not quite ready to shine yet, two of my favorite scenes are still the love scenes between Brigitte and Charlie (you may say that is because I am a die hard Brigitte and Charlie's fan).  One is a hug/kiss scene of the two when Charlie gets mad as he thought Brigitte was engaged to Shi Xiu and tries to reason with her only to find out the news was not true.  Brigitte and Charlie end up with a happy hug and kiss with their faces being muddy (since Charlie hasn't have time to clean his muddy hands yet).  The other scene is also a kiss scene,  Brigitte already decided to give up Charlie as to obey her parents, Charlie rushes to convince her and Brigitte is helplessly shaken by him, then Charlie gives Brigitte a forceful and passionate kiss.  To see Charlie and Brigitte at their fresh, innocent youth in 1974 is a bonus to all of their fans.

Xiao Fangfang (Josephine Siao) played the crucial 2nd girlfriend Ya-ping, a successful model who comes from countryside and still keeps unspoiled with all the virtues.  Xiao Fangfang played her character with maturity, confidence and charms.  The emotional scenes between Xiao and Charlie are all well done.  Considering the fact that the two stars (Charlie and Xiao Fangfang) would get married soon after this movie was made, it is not hard to tell part of their genuine love scenes are truthful to nature. 

Shi Xiu, an often seen second male lead/ supporting actor in those numerous 70s TW romance movies, gives one of his most impressive performances as the excellent EE student He Huai-zu, a quiet, thoughtful and accomplished student who relies his future on action rather than words,  who lives in reality rather than dream, a contrast to Charlie's buoyant character Gao Ling-feng.  Another usual second male lead Jiang Ming also has a part as Xiao Fangfang's manager, who has a crush on Xiao.

Trivia

When QY wrote this novel, she was not quite sure how she would write the ending.  She finally decided that Gao Ling-feng would go up to the mountain and keep his career of forestry, while in the reality, the real-life Gao Lingfeng was still keeping his singing dream.  Gao Ling-feng later became one of the famous singers in TW, who has an interesting nickname as "Prince of Frog" (Qing Wa Wang Zi).

Gao Lingfeng also has some cameos in some QY's movies, such as "Zai Shui Yi Fang" (The Unforgettable Character), "Ju San Liang Yi Yi" (Errant Love), "Wild Goose on the Wing" (Yan Er Zai Lin Shao), etc.

No need to mention many memorable songs that Gao Lingfeng sings in QY's movies, just to name a few, "Girl Friend", "Big Eyes",  "Zai Shui Yi Fang",  "Burn Phoenix Burn" (Burn, firebird), "7 flowers", etc.

Novel: Qiong Yao 
Director: Bai Jingrui ( Pai Jing Rui)
Starring: Charlie Chin, Brigitte Lin, Xiao Fangfang, 

Singer:  Gao Lingfeng, Fang Yizhen
Year: 1974