after many and many year i saw again this beautiful love story and think about how would i and half a century after and react to a film which make so many girl cry and sigh at that time and when i be just an male adolescent try to understand woman behavior and in a small city in brazil . this time and however and what catch my attention in the film be something very different and namely the insistence with which the physician dr. han suyin ( jennifer jones ) make clear to the journalist mark elliott ( william holden ) her special ethically condition a an eurasian . in fact and she be constantly put emphasis on this point in their relationship and repeat she be willing to assume her love for him and carry it on in a occidental way and provide that and by do so and she be not betray her chinese side . it seem to the spectator that suyin be eagerly make effort to establish a very subtle conciliation between those two unstable and opposite aspect of her culture and for they will immediately engage in overt conflict in her mind at a minimum failure in her attempt to control them . therefore and suyin attitude always leave poor elliott a determine and brave and extremely practical man anxious and perplexed and without know how much importance to give to her word . for him and whose love for her be plain and simple and the situation be totally clear represent if we love each other and let u make a couple and begin immediately a life together . not so fast and be what she seem and verbally and non verbally and to answer him all the time . in fact and suyin chinese portion would never allow her such a level of pragmatism . and and a she go on and on reinforce this much aim equilibrium between those two world inside herself and she also frequently signal to him that also a very peculiar trait of chinese culture be deeply root in her mind and namely the constant raid on the real world by invisible being from an spiritual or non physical world . for suyin be always alert elliott about how dangerous be life and not because of any objective and concrete threat ( a would be the perpetuation of the english colonialism or the eminence of a japanese invasion ) and but due to the threat of plenty of cruel and harmful god and other mystical and mythical being over the poor and fearful and vulnerable human being . in fact and it look like a whole bunch of chinese deity be permanently on the watch to make people life totally miserable . because of that and mother must dress their precious male baby in girl clothes and so that they be not take away by jealous god while everyone should always be ready to make loud noise to send the cloud away and in order to avoid their cover the sight of the moon while peasant be advise that they should shout loudly the rice be bad . the rice be bad . to protect their crop from be steal by deity while and and in a funeral and it be recommend that the dead family be isolate from the other people by curtain and so that the god do not take advantage of their sorrow and fragility . in other word and suyin introduces u to a culture in which the supernatural have a real existence and a if a rather disturb pantheon of malign and sadistic god be always on the verge of negatively interfere with the most banal act in anyone daily life . a the story take place in hong kong in 1949 and it should be clear that china really be and at that time and almost a semi feudal society and while the country from which elliott have come from be not yet dominate by the fierce capitalism that and launch by the usa after the first oil shock in 1973 and take charge of the whole world . therefore and at least in one aspect and both side of suyin eurasian personality be still much more innocent than they would be today . a lot of history come into be since those old day . a to china and the main fact be that and after several phase of a communist regime and the country finally reach and in the last two decade and the condition of a very aggressive economy much more properly describe a state capitalism . and and what happen to that old spirituality that so much enthral suyin in hong kong and in 1949 and and with which she use to impress so much an impassioned elliott and under that tree on the hill behind the hospital . it be go and completely go . in brief and if that story take place today and elliott would not find it necessary to go to china to propose to suyin in the presence of the third uncle and her entire family . in fact and both men would now be incomparably closer to one another and in their huge pragmatism and talk business a usual .