It So Happens to a Woman

Hung Sin Nui plays a mother of three who is burning with desires to serve society. Working as a journalist, she stays out for long hours, resulting in negligence of her children and her husband’s suspicions of infidelity. The twist, at once ironic and realistic, is that her unsupportive husband had actually written in his youth a book on gender equality. On the verge of divorce, the couple reconciles after the husband’s mother, sympathetic to the difficulties faced by women, rises to the occasion with timely and prudent advice. Hung’s character, a woman stuck between cultures of old and new, was tailor-made for the star by screenwriter Chu Hak. Director Li Pingqian portrays her struggles with realist and humanistic touches, extending gentle critiques of social prejudices without fanning the ire of resentment.

Directed by Li Ping-Qian, It So Happens to a Woman leans on a strong ensemble — Hung Sin-Nui, Ping Fan, Josephine Siao Fong-Fong — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about screen titles of 1955.