Love, Love, Love (Chun Chun's Love)

Made in 1974, "Love Love Love" is the first movie Brigitte and Charlie teamed up.  The Chinese title of this movie has double meanings, both referring as "Chun Chun's Love" (the character's name is Chun-Chun) and as "Pure Love".   Brigitte & Charlie, their characters, the dialogues, and the whole movie are just like what the Chinese title suggests, simple, pure, and innocent.   For all the people who don't like 70s romance movies, this sentimental little film is probably too foolish and old-fashioned.  But for those 70s romance movie fans, watching this film is like going back to the age of innocence to experience something extremely simple and pure.

For me, watching this movie is solely for the purpose to see the young and fresh Brigitte&Charlie at their early careers.  Charlie gives many comedic elements to his character, which makes you often laugh in the first half of the movie.   His character is kind of  foolish and funny.  Brigitte is vivacious, energetic and a bit bossy.  The love between the two is simple and pure.  Their dialogues are often childish and sincere at the same time, just like the movie.

In 1974, Brigitte was so young and unrefined, her stunning beauty hasn't totally blossomed yet.  She had this curly short hair (shoulder lengthy) and wore very little make-up.  She seemed more like a girl next door, very different from her post-1976 images, those elegant beauties from QY's world.  In most of her 1974 and 1975 movies, her characters were those vivacious girls with strong personality and straightforward attitude. In this movie, there is no exception.

Charlie was also very young and fresh.  His character is a shy guy who doesn't know how to deal with girls.  His mother thinks he is a bit feminine and is concerned that he won't be able to get a girlfriend.  His character's name is "Li Ai-Fen", a very feminine name.  Actually it was given for the meaning of "love Beethoven".  Both Charlie and Brigitte are college students majoring in music.  Charlie plays violin and Brigitte plays piano.  One day on the practice, they meet each other and love sparkles.  However, the movie soon gets sentimental as Brigitte's character is discovered to have a fatal disease and her life can only last a few months.  Everyone around Brigitte gets sad and tries to hide the truth to her, but she somehow feels it.  Charlie accompanies Brigitte and tries to make her happy.  Later he decides to marry her anyway.  The movie ends as Brigitte and Charlie get married and they walk towards their wedding car (not shown in the movie).   Brigitte gets so sick and seems like dying.  The two are walking on the snow with the theme song of "...to be brave and bold is Chun Chun's love".      

 Same as all the movies directed by Liu Jiachang (Liu Chia Chang), this movie is settled with a melodious soundtrack, a mixture of classic music and Liu Jiachang's style 70s pop songs.  It is not hard to see how American movies had a great impact on some Liu Jiachang's works.  His "Moon River" (Cloud River, 1974) is a remake of the classic "Roman Holiday" and this movie somehow resembles "Love Story".  (A note, in Moon River, Gu Minglun and Kang Jiazhen played the two leads and Brigitte played a supporting role as Gu Minglun's younger sister.)  

Not a significant romance movie, but if you are a Brigitte or Charlie's fan, you will still find it worthy just to see them both so young and pure.      

   

Director: Liu Jiachang

Starring:  Charlie Chin, Brigitte Lin

Made:  Zhong Ying 

Year: 1974

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