''Forever and Ever'' or ''Impetuous Fire'' (Original title: ''Jin sheng jin shi'', ), is a

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

romantic drama film Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typica ...

, directed by

John Law John Law may refer to: Arts and entertainment *John Law (artist) (born 1958), American artist *John Law (comics), comic-book character created by Will Eisner *John Law (film director), Hong Kong film director * John Law (musician) (born 1961), B ...

(Mar Lo).HKcinemamagic.com
/ref> Its Chinese title, "Jin Shung Jin Shi," literally means "This Life, This World." The film stars

Alan Tang Alan Tang Kwong-Wing (20 September 194629 March 2011) was a Hong Kong film actor, producer and director. Early life Tang was born in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. He was the youngest of four children, having two older brothers and one older si ...

(Tang Kwon-Wing,), one of the notable actors in Hong Kong romantic and

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...

films during the 1970s. It co-stars a young

Candice Yu Candice Yu (Yu On On; born Yu De Ying; 22 October 1959) is a Hong Kong people, Hong Kong film actor, actress and occasional singing, singer best known for her films with Shaw Brothers Studio of the 1970s and 1980s. She was the first wife of Hon ...

(Yu On-On,)in one of the earliest projects in her career. She would later go on to become the first wife of

Chow Yun-fat Chow Yun-fat (born 18 May 1955), previously known as Donald Chow, is a Hong Kong actor. He is perhaps best known for his collaborations with filmmaker John Woo in the five Hong Kong action heroic bloodshed films: ''A Better Tomorrow'', ''A Be ...

. The score was composed by

Joseph Koo Joseph Koo Kar-Fai, MBE, GBS (born 3 February 1933), is a Hong Kong composer, who is considered one of the most respected composers in Hong Kong. He used the pen name Moran (莫然) for Mandarin songs early in his career. Early life Koo has ...

Ka-Fai. The film is often mistakenly listed as a 1972 film by the Hong Kong films archives, given that the leading actress Candice Yu would have been only 12 years old in 1972.

Plot

Young Iris (Candice Yu), diagnosed with an incurable

disease A disease is a particular abnormal condition that negatively affects the structure or function of all or part of an organism, and that is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical conditions that a ...

, has her parents’ consent to travel the world before the end. Accompanied by her governess Mrs. Hsia, she comes to

for only seven days. She runs into a convicted killer Tai-Lun (Alan Tang) upon arriving, and as

telepathy Telepathy () is the purported vicarious transmission of information from one person's mind to another's without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was first coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic W ...

will have it, they fall deeply in love. Tai-Lun, who has just broken out of jail in

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...

, is an orphan brought up by Father Ma. He is sentenced to death for accidentally killing three people in a fight. The two lovers, each facing a mutual plight, choose to love the moment and hide the truth from each other. Their guardians, Mrs. Hsia and Father Ma, find out about their love and decide to confide in each other and help the pair keep up their fantasy. There Iris and Tai-Lun are able to enjoy their bitter-sweet love for only the seven days.

Cast

- Iris *

- Tai-Lun *

Tang Ching Tang Ching or Tang Jing (; 1 January 1924 - 2019) was a Chinese film actor and businessman from Zhengzhou, Henan, working in the Cinema of Taiwan and the Cinema of Hong Kong The cinema of Hong Kong ( zh, t=香港電影) is one of the three ...

- The Cop *

Jenny Hu Jenny Hu (Chinese: 胡燕妮 wu yin ne/hu yian ni; born 17 November 1945), is a Hong Kong actress of Chinese and German origin best known for her leads in Shaw Brothers productions throughout the 1960s and early 1970s. Early life Hu was born in ...

-The Teacher *

Ouyang Sha-fei Qian Shunying ( zh, t=錢舜英, w=Chien Shun-ying; September 9, 1924 – March 8, 2010), better known by her stage name Ouyang Sha-fei ( zh, t=歐陽莎菲, s=欧阳莎菲, first=t, j=Auyeung Sa-fay, links=no), was a Hong Kong actress. She is ...

-The Priest * Cho Kin * Chen Kuan Tai

Reception and critique

Due to the general lack of accurate record keeping by respective filming commissions in Asian countries back in the 1970s, The exact earnings of this film was unknown. However, it was certainly not a top-grossing film that year. Its legacy might be that it inspired a successful remake many years later. Critically, the film drew mixed reviews. One critic called the script "insipid and dull" while others expressed approval of the fictional and fantasized story line. The love scene in the film deserves a special mention, given that most Chinese romance movies at the time avoided sexual themes and only featured light, conservative "dry" kisses, Tang and Yu embrace in a very passionate kissing scene, with Tang baring his chest and Yu wearing only lingerie. The kissing scene along with the partial undressing, exceeded usual standards at this time and appeared well ahead of its time.

1994 remake

This film was remade into a made-for-TV movie for a Chinese TV sub-network in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in 1994. The low-budget remake, starring actor Tim Chang, and introducing a very young, singer-actress Sandy Wu, became a surprise hit. It was directed by H. C. Tang, a successful producer-director in the Chinese-American entertainment industry. The remake followed much of the storyline as the original, with the only major change being its location-from Hong Kong to the US. It also focused more on the love story of the leading couple and paid less attention to the supporting roles. Whereas comparing to the fighting scenes in the original, leading man Tim Chang did some singing instead in the remake, while Wu sings for the title song herself. The love scene in the remake by Chang and Wu was also highly sexualised and realistic. The remake has not been released worldwide.

References

External links

''Impetuous Fire''
at IMDb
Forever and Ever at the Hong Kong Movie Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Forever And Ever (1977 Film) 1977 films 1970s romance films 1970s Mandarin-language films Hong Kong romance films 1970s Hong Kong films