La posada de la sexta felicidad

Once more, in this film as she had in her earlier films, Ingrid Bergman proves she was "A PERFECT ACTRESS!" In this film, "Inn of the Sixth Happiness," she plays Englishwoman Gladys Aylward who knew that China was the place where she belonged. Not qualified to be sent there as a missionary she worked and saved her money until she had enough to go on her own. Once there, she meets up with people who manage to help her through her first days. Then, she is nearly all alone and must make it or leave China. She stays. Eventually, just as WW2 is breaking out, she rescues over 100 children and takes them to freedom.

Again, I repeat, it clearly shows Ingrid Bergman as a perfect actress. She shows her talent and charm all through this film and it is one everyone in the family can watch and appreciate. I highly recommend it.

A lot has been said, both positive and negative, about the main Asian roles played by Caucasian actors in this film. As an Asian of Chinese descent myself, I've learnt not to get too bent up over this, especially when one considers when this movie was made.

I just recently got the DVD and watched it for the second time after a gap of more than 20 years and I still see the magic of the movie and why it remains inspiring. There are, of course, quite a few creative licenses taken at the expense of the actual life of Gladys Aylward (which IMHO is actually much more inspiring) but that is to be expected with cinema.

What surprised me even more was that Robert Donat who played the Mandarin (the literal translation of his title in the movie would be County Governor; ie. Hsien Chang or 縣長) actually spoke better Mandarin than Peter Chong who played Yang the cook who I assume isn't a native Mandarin speaker.

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed it and felt the same awe and emotions as when I first saw it as a young boy.

I really liked the old hollywood feel of this movie. NO graphic sex, no graphic language just for the sake of having shock value. This movie pulled you into the characters like a great book and you wanted Gladys to succeed, yet it was not always a sure thing. She is wonderfully flawed in an average way. She has a resilent faith, that enables her to overcome truly epic conditions in a heroic manner. Everyday people with that kind of faith can be heroic. It is a wonderful movie I would love to see transferred to DVD.

I show this film in my classes on leadership. Though some may find it "corny" or condescending, it is a fine and "human" portrayal of how stubbornness, faith, and a sense of justice can lead one toward great acts of courage. It's also simply an extremely interesting story. I understand that the real Gladys Aylward, on whose life the film is based, was embarrassed by the fictional "love story" portion of the film. I'm not sure why I read so many negative reactions to the film. The depictions of how Aylward inspires those around her are timeless. The three main actors, Ingrid Bergman, Robert Donat, and Kurt Jurgens, put in excellent and nuanced performances. Ms. Bergman is at her most beautiful in this film, conveying so much meaning simply with a glance. My Chinese students tend to like the film very much. Perhaps the finest scene occurs when Jen Ai (Aylward's Chinese name in the film) goes to the village to persuade the mothers to unbind their daughters' feet. So many of my students didn't even know about this cruel practice.

Inn of the Sixth Happiness is a great epic. The story is surprisingly a true one - Gladys Aylward was a British servant who believed her calling was to preach in China.

Inn of the Sixth Happiness was done in the old Hollywood style with a bit of romance built in, but that seems to be the only way they deviated from the real story.

Ingrid Bergman does a wonderful job of recreating Gladys and the movie cinematography really captures the old China I knew.

I would highly recommend this to anyone who wants to be entertained, and to anyone with a sense of adventure.