Women Prison (1988) [Film Review]

Women Prison; or, The real meaning of equality

Straight from the golden era of Hong Kong movies, Women Prison is not just a standard prison-film rip-off but a real, forgotten gem tackling on such important issues as moral justice, living with dignity, and the efficiency of the penitentiary system.

Release Info

Directed by: David Lam Starring: Pat Ha, Carol Dodo Cheng, Bo-Bo Fung, Simon Yam

Language: Cantonese Original Title: Nu zi jian yu Movie Industry: Hong Kong Runtime: 93 min

Plot

A young girl called Kelly Ho is preparing for her wedding day, but the celebration is disturbed by two thugs who come in order to reclaim the debt her fiancé made while recklessly gambling. An unexpected fight breaks out and Kelly hurts one of the thugs, due to which she is sentenced to serve 18 months in a containment facility for women. When arriving there, the girl does not know that she has found herself in the middle of a war for power between fellow inmates and a desperate struggle to hush things up by an incompetent prison superintendent.

Hong Kong Redemption

At first, we get a standard arrival sequence, a bus ride, a strip search,  a medical examination, and the allocation of toiletries. On the surface, the prison seems pretty ordinary, but Kelly discovers the strict and unconformable rule of a two-faced female superintendent, who tries to maintain order in the facility by favouring one of the prison gangs led by the psychotic, but controllable ‘big sister’ Fatty. Needless to say, these actions result in disastrous consequences.

The movie provides probably one of the most vivid and accurate images of prison life exemplified by vivid characters who share the pain and sufferings of Kelly while serving their terms. One could claim that there are too many “innocent” inmates, but the focus of the picture is not ultimately centred on the whole prison, but on the struggle of the weakest (and least deranged) links. Apart from the educated Kelly, we have a strong and tough as nail Lynn, who is on a quest to regain her leadership in the prison society, Jean who cares for her 8-year-old son more than anything else, and Mandy who is caught in the crossfire of gang influences and eventually raped. For a 90-minute picture, this has a wide range of personalities to include.

However, this whole mash-up seems to play perfectly well. Not only due to the well-written dilemmas each character has to face, but also skillful acting by each of the actresses. Whoever was responsible for the casting did one hell of a job. Pat Ha was very convincing as an ordinary girl who got jailed for fighting back. She is our everyman inside the prison and through her perspective we get to know about the formidable conditions of daily inmate existence. The supporting role of Bobo Fung as Kelly’s friend and the loving mother was extremely moving and, without a doubt, realistic. Nevertheless, it is the performance of Carol Dodo Cheng that wipes the floor. Every time she appears, she steals the scene for herself. In contrast to her other roles in comedies or action movies, this time she literally played a female version of Cool Hand Luke. Smooth, confident, cocky, ruthless, but righteous more than anything.

Recommendations

If you are keen on prison films, this is definitely something for you. If you don’t, even better. In my opinion, this is easily one of the best movies of its kind and it can without a shadow of a doubt be placed among other prison classics. Imdb rating gives this one a 5.8 score, but it is further proof not to believe interent ratings. If you have a free evening and want to experience some morally-conscious cinema, give this film a chance. You’ve got to see this for yourself.

Overall score: 8/10