This film (also known as "Call Girl 1988") essentially begins with a young actress in Hong Kong by the name of "Jenny Lin" (Maggie Cheung) trying to further her acting career and to do that she reluctantly follows the advice of her agent "Auntie Lan" (Yee Seung) and yields to the advances of certain men in the movie industry while on a business trip to Thailand. The scene then shifts to a woman by the name of "Mei-Feng" (Bo-Bo Fung) in desperate need of money to help her husband receive medical care for a serious medical issue. To that effect, she secretly turns to prostitution in an effort to meet the rising costs the hospital requires. At that point, the scene shifts once again to a couple of other young women who have turned to prostitution for a variety of reasons which are further detailed as the film progresses. The problem, however, is that, even though they all assumed prostitution was just a temporary means to an end, their decision will soon result in enormous consequences that any of them could have possibly imagined. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this was not an easy film for me to watch as it showcased certain aspects of prostitution in rather stark, and sometimes, graphic detail. That being said, I believe most people will find this film to be both sad and depressing. Yet despite the obvious exploitation depicted in this film, it also highlights the fact that these young women, like all of us, are still human beings who deserve respect. Unfortunately, because they are so often looked down upon by society, their wants and needs are often dismissed--as this film also clearly depicts. On that note, while this was not a film that I necessarily enjoyed, I thought Maggie Cheung, Bo-Bo Fung and Elsie Chan (as "Ling-Yu") all played their parts quite well, and I have rated this movie accordingly. Slightly above average.
