Peggy Su! (1997) watch online HD

The main character is Peggy, played by Pamela Oei who wants to be married and the men she encounters. All the men are portrayed well with their own good and bad points. Peggy yearns for romance but is also a realist. Oei makes a seemingly plain girl into an interesting, vital personality.

Besides Osei there is lots of fine acting including the great Burt Kwouk. Hopefully he won't go down in film history as the man who jumped out of cupboards to attack Peter Seller's Inspector Clouseau! He pops up now and then in films. (See his dignified role in Jet Li's 'Kiss of the Dragon').

The colours are garish enough for a film set in the sixties although the story is timeless and could be set anywhere. There is an awful lot of inferior British film making these days so films like this which are small scale but full of honesty about the human condition are to be treasured.

It is a familiar tale, Jane Austen in 1960s Liverpool, where the colours and costumes are as gorgeous as any period drama. It is about marriage and family and obligation and ties and yearnings for freedom, and it works well in this setting. Most of the characters are Chinese but they might as well be Brazilian or Icelandic or Nigerian.

The main character is Peggy, played with great charm and humour by Pamela Oei, who wants to be married and several men come into her orbit, some more suitable than others. Her story unravels in a sweet but not cloying way, surrounded by lots of likeable characters. The rest of the cast are fine too. The great Burt Kwouk is...well great.

The film moves along nicely, directed with just the right amounts of laughter and tears. The wedding scene is very well done. The music score is interesting and thankfully not a series of 60s pop songs. Like the character of Peggy, the film is a small gem and there is much more to it than meets the eye.

'Peggy Su!' is written by Kevin Wong and directed by Frances-Anne Solomon and is set in the 1960's among the Chinese community in Liverpool. Apparently it was the first feature film to receive UK National Lottery funding. Better than most that have been funded from the same source.

Pamela Oei gives a charming and bright performance as Peggy as she looks for a husband (not the one her Dad thinks is suitable!) and cope with life in general. She is supported by a cast eminently suited to their roles, including the legendary Burt Kwouk as Dad.

Am not usually one for romantic comedies but this film is a endearing and sweet but not cloying and thankfully not brash or ridiculous. In many ways it reminded me of an Ealing film but in a good way.