Sadistic sex film aimed at Valentine audience

CALL us an old sentimental fool, but if we were asked to put together a set of Valentine films we'd probably include Love Story (of course) and Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet.

We admit we would have hesitated before including a movie featuring the sadistic sexual reminiscences of a man who had mentally tortured his girlfriend and been permanently crippled by her in retaliation.

However, in its special ''Be My Valentine'' movie package TVB has evidently got a new perspective on romantic films, with the month-long series kicking off with Roman Polanski's Bitter Moon - appropriate perhaps to a Bobbitt Valentine celebration, but not, we hope, to the plans of most happy Hong Kong couples.

''We wanted to tie the idea of Valentines to a wider connotation of life,'' explained a TVB spokeswoman.

Meanwhile, anyone donating more than $100 to the Children's Cancer Fund through TVB between now and February 7 gets the chance to surprise their beloved with a special on-screen message to compete with that annoying TVB logo.

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