The Fruit Is Swelling (1997)

Well, what a strange film. I really can't tell whether it wanted to be a total exploitation film, or to tell a nice story. It had more sex in it than I've seen in any other HK film I think, and held little back in the presentation... but quite a bit of attention seemed to have been paid to the story anyway. The basic premise is that an 8 year old girl is curious about sex, and wants to be older so that she can go out with boys like her sister does. After making this wish to a wishing tree, she is quite surprised that it comes true, waking up the next day to find that the fruit has indeed swelled somewhat. She and her friend "fatty girl" then voyage into the world as children in young adults bodies, learning more about what adults do with each other when they're alone.

Actually I lied a little about "quite a bit of" attention having been paid to the story - there's plenty of gaping holes in the plot, and most of the sex scenes have little reason for their occurence in narrative terms.

Shu Qi has a cameo in the film, appearing for a minute at the start and end, frolicking on a beach in a swimming costume to introduce the movie, then to deliver the message. "This film teaches us... err, what does it teach us? Oh yes, before 18 you shouldn't have sex with others easily, but after 18 sex can be enjoyed". This was quite a surprise to me, as the message appeared to be "The ideal girlfriend will have the body of an 18 year old and the mind of an 8 year old". I'm not quite convinced of the ethics of this :-)

Overall verdict - the nice cinematography, the extremely attractive cast (female members only - the men are mostly rather rough, Elvis Tsui excepted as always) and the large amount of sex they get involved in make it a film that's worth a viewing IMO. There's some quite charming and funny moments in it too.