The significance of the birthday in Mambo Girl

The retrospective of the classic film *Mambo Girl* (1957), recently screened in the "Portrait of Hong Kong" at the Forum des Images, not only evokes nostalgia but also holds significant meaning for reflecting on ideology and cinematic history.

Ideologically, as a film with themes of family and the search for a biological mother, *Mambo Girl* is avant-garde because it refuses to follow the traditional plotlines of Sinophone films that adopt biologism and essentialism. Not only does the film criticize the discrimination against adopted children at that time, but it also highlights the importance of a free and open education, which was not at all popular in Asian families: Li Kailing, alias Mambo Girl, could sing very well because she learned songs and dances with strong will and a genuine interest in music. Furthermore, unlike most traditional families, Kailing's father encouraged her to pursue her dreams. Although Kailing doubted that she could sing well because of her biological mother's genes, the film reveals at the end that her biological mother was a housemaid. Kailing's talents actually stem from her passion for music and her years of personal effort.

Historically, Kailing's birthday is mentioned and emphasized throughout the film, and it signifies a period of transition in the concept of "China" in Hong Kong. But how? At the film's end, the father discovers that he had always been mistaken about Kailing's birth date. Her correct birth date was October 9th, and her birthday that year in the film fell on a Sunday. Therefore, it wasn't ideal to celebrate all Sunday evening since people had to work the next day. However, one of Kailing's friends said, "It doesn't matter because tomorrow is a holiday." So, why was 10th October a holiday in Hong Kong?

Before 1949, "China" was the Republic of China governed by the Kuomintang party, with its national holiday on October 10th. However, this sovereignty changed in 1949 after the Chinese Communist Party's victory, and the country's name was changed to the People's Republic of China, with its national holiday on October 1st. Many people at that time who supported Kuomintang's governance fled from China to Hong Kong, and the colonial government of Hong Kong continued to observe October 10th as a public holiday, respecting the national holiday of the Republic of China. However, as diplomacy with Taiwan (Kuomintang's refuge) and the current China became increasingly complex, the British colonial government decided to abolish October 10th as a public holiday. By the release of *Mambo Girl*, October 10th was no longer a public holiday, but since most filmmakers at that time were exiles from China, it is likely that the director, Evan Yang (also exiled in Hong Kong), wanted to continue this commemoration and thus hid this message in the film.