OYSTER GIRL is a key film in Taiwanese film history, representing both the 1960s revival of the Mandarin-language film industry and the arrival of a new genre known as "healthy realism," which borrowed Italian neorealism's use of real locations and working-class characters but toned down the social criticism in favor of positive messages. Oyster-gatherer Ah-lan (like her catch, she is hard-shelled but tender inside) is in love with the often-absent fisherman Chin-shui, but a bout of premarital sex leaves her pregnant and vulnerable to malicious gossip. The first color film by Taiwanese filmmakers, OYSTER GIRL's picturesque delights include a free-for-all catfight in the surf and stunning shots of the oyster girls pushing their sail-borne baskets across the golden strand.