Customer Reviews

Fruit is Swelling

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I didn't realize that this was a Category III film (roughly equivalent to NC-17, Category III is usually applied to soft-core porn) when I bought it, but that turned out to be a good thing, because I might not have bought it and discovered this charming film otherwise.

The story: an 8 year old girl named Peach (in the subtitles, anyway) keeps trying to learn about the adult world, and is continually lied to or told that she'll find out such things when she grows up. She wishes that she were grown up already, and wakes up to find herself in an 18 year old body. With a little help from her older sister, she explores that world, falls in love, and has her heart broken.

If this movie were made in the US, it would never work. It would be a disgusting voyeurism about an 8 year old girl going out and having lots of sex in an adult body.

But this film is a modern fairy tale about an 8 year old girl learning about love (of which sex is an essential part, but only one part), and how she retains her innocence while losing her naivete. As such, this is a far better film than I would ever have expected.

Peach is a young girl of eight who makes a wish on a wishing tree. She wants to be older. Then she wakes up as an eighteen-year-old. Her friend Fatty-Girl undergoes a similar transformation. Only Peach's older sister Lychee knows the truth.

Peach and Fatty now can observe the adult world in all of its guises be they good or bad. Peach discovers that while she is not ready for a physical relationship, she has developed a romantic attachment. But the world of adults is not a bed of roses and Peach's innocence is tested as she witnesses lies, infidelity and lust wherever she goes. It seems that no adult is truthful. The ending series of twists helps to elevate the story above the more superficial BIG.

Lots of nudity and simulated sex makes this far less of a family picture than its American counterpart but I feel it has the better message to deliver and the more truthful ending. I was surprised that Peach was never shocked by her father carrying on with any woman he could get near but she may have already been immune to that behavior. Peach does a good job of remaining a child while in a woman's body. Very good film but not for the prudish.

Most reviewers saw just an above average HK Cat 111 film. But this is a real rarity. It deals with sex (which makes most reviewers nervous), takes it seriously (US sex films play it like slapstick they're so nervous), is both witty and wise, and the performances of the lead actresses make it quite affecting. The subject is how we, and especially women, deal with our discovery of sex. The subject is highlighted by accelerating the discovery to an overnight affair courtesy of a god (be careful what you pray for, you might get it!). The humour is ironic, using what we know of sex and letting us watch an eight year old discover it suddenly. But it's also self depreciatory humour, for we are all vulnerable after all, no matter how adult. And alongside the child learning about sex, the film shows us adults who have a decidedly immature attitude to sex. The girls get naked, have the most adorable bodies, but the film, incredibly for any kind of porn, never loses its feather light touch. While the romance eventually becomes sentimental and a 'girl thing', the film both teaches and entertains throughout its length. The Cat 111 label puts it in a basket with a lot of bad films, but it is miles ahead of a great many wholesome G rated films. So much for censorship.

I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised with this film. Though a fantasy, it was funny, entertaining and causes one to consider the line, "Be careful what you wish for - you just might get it!" Be mindful, this is not a movie for kids! It deserves it's NC-17 rating, but it's not smutty or exploitative either. My copy (under $10.00US, new) was a bargain. See for yourself! I actually enjoyed this one! Four stars!

First let me begin by saying that I almost didn't get this movie
because of the title. The movie is much better than the title suggests. The actress who played the youg girl at 18 was a real
cutie. The one thing you need to watch is her facial expressions
in various situations, they are priceless. I spent a week in Hong Kong but I never met a girl who looked like that, although I met some really pretty ladies. Don't let the inane title keep
you away from this film, as it is really good. It would probably
get an NC-17 rating, although it is not explicit. It is a softcore romp with good prodution values. It is a comedy and is funny. I really enjoyed this film and am glad I finally ordered it. Charlie Spivey

"Fruit is Swelling" is a sweet, funny and sometimes sexy Category III flick, with an odd twist on the "child in an adult's body" theme seen so many times in films like Big, Freaky Friday, 13 Going On 30, etc....

The story is pretty typical: a young 8-year old girl named Peach makes a wish and finds herself in an 18-year old body. She heads out to discover the mysteries of the adult world, and stumbles unknowingly into a realm of sex, lies and wacky hijinks. Inside she remains a wide-eyed innocent, a bit shocked by what she finds.

Because this is a Category III film, if a good-looking girl appears on screen, she is bound to get naked at some point, but most of this is played for laughs and the sex, all of it clearly simulated, is more often silly than erotic. Peach's father in particular has a few romps that are hilarious. I don't think this is anyone's idea of a lonely-night date, more like a romantic comedy with a sexy twist, the kind of thing you could watch with your girlfriend and chuckle over together.

The girl playing Peach, Chun Chung, is gorgeous in her wide-eyed innocence, and definitely makes the film. The legendary Qi Shu pops up at the beginning and the end, delivering a little speech on the moral of the tale, almost like an old after-school special, except she does it in a bikini. Good times.

The DVD has several subtitles, including English, Chinese and Japanese, which makes for easy viewing.

This was the last was the last official catogary III film to come out in Hong Kong back in 1997. This strange adult film is about a youn girl who wants to become an adult. One night she takes her best friend and they make a wish to the blessing tree. Remember the old adage, "Be careful what you wish for..."? I can't explain the rest of the movie. It's one of those "you have to see it to believe it". A sweet movie that'll entertain and please you all at the same time. Elvis Tsui and Yuen King Tam co-star as the little girl's weird parents. A.K.A. When the Sweet Peach Ripens. What a way for the catogary III cinema to go out.

I agree totally with "A viewer" about this movie. Somehow, if this was made in the USA, it would end up as either some Disneyfied morality tale totally devoid of sexuality/eroticism or just the opposite...adolescent sleezeball comedy. I really enjoyed it because it maintained a humorous, playful, fairytale quality even during the more adult scenes. Sexuality is dealt with as part of life...nothing more, nothing less.

This is a Type - III (HK's rating for X or NC-17). This story is about a 8 years girl who want to be grown up so her and her friend wish at the wishing tree to be grown up and the next morning she finds herself with a body of an 18 year girl and the mind of an 8 year old still. So set out to learn about the world and along the way she falls and love and gets hurt and wishes to turn back it to an 8 year girl only to change her mind and whats to turn back into an 18 y/o but it is too late because shortly after her last wish the tree burns down so she can't turn back. There is a surpise at the end that yu will have to see for yourself to believe. The Type - III is for the sex scenes in the movie. (I have the DVD form.)

Great dvd , pity about lack of subtitles but overall very enjoyable. The ladies were adorable well worth a look.