![]() ![]() Set in a nondescript Chinese region, the film revolves around a married woman named Yuwen. Fei Mu’s Spring in a Small Town is one of the most important Chinese films made during the post-war period. Shanghai film industry, however, saw a revival post-World War II which led to the second golden age in Chinese cinema. Spring in a Small Town (1948) Image Source: Īfter the end of World War II, the conflict between the Nationalists and the Communists escalated in China. Street Angels more or less marks the end of the first golden age of Chinese cinema.ģ. In fact, sound is a significant element in the film. Moreover, the camera movements and sound techniques elevate the narrative’s ironic notes. The most interesting aspect of Street Angels is not its story, but the treatment which uses a satirical tone to look at the more serious issues. Throw in a low-level gangster and a capitalist into the mix and you get a poignant tale of the downtrodden. Yun works as a prostitute and Hong is a singer at a local teahouse. They struggle to make ends meet and have fled from the Japanese invasion in north-east China. The street angels of the title are two sisters, Xiao Hong and Xiao Yun. Its use of space in representing the urban lower classes as well as the usage of music and comedy was unique for the time. It opens with a brilliant montage of Shanghai. Yuan Muzhi’s Street Angels features the kind of melodramatic realism that reminds us of Kenji Mizoguchi’s earlier works. An actress of immense talent, who passed away at an untimely 24, was immortalized for her performance here.Ģ. Ruan Lingyu is absolutely spellbinding in the central character. Yet the filmmaker and Lingyu brought upon a subtlety to the proceedings that are very much like Ozu’s works. The theatrical and histrionic acting of the silent era was prevalent in this film too. Mixing social realism with melodrama, Wu Yonggang mastered the grammar of silent cinema. Shot on location, The Goddess tells the tale of a young mother who works as a prostitute to support her son and his education. Wu Yonggang’s The Goddess is one of the most important films of the era, which featured China’s first major star Ruan Lingyu. Most of these films were about ordinary people, they were staunchly left-wing. Shanghai was known as the hub for artistic and intellectual community, and in this multicultural city, early Chinese cinema thrived. Until the Japanese invasion and occupation of 1937, Chinese cinema enjoyed its first golden age. Here’s a look at the 20 best Mainland Chinese movies:ġ. The list is strictly confined to Mainland China where, despite the harsh censorship rules, profound and perceptive cinema is persistently made. For this list, I haven’t considered films made in these parts of China. Meanwhile, cinema thrived in Hong Kong and Taiwan in the 1960s and 1970s. But it was only in the mid-1980s that Mainland Chinese cinema caught the attention of the globe as a new generation of filmmakers graduated from the revived Beijing Film Academy. But in the 1960s, there were underrated gems like Stage Sisters (1965) and the country’s first animation feature – Uproar in Heaven (1964). Cinema was used as a tool for ideological campaigns. The full-scale Japanese invasion and the bloody civil war brought an end to the first golden age.Īfter a short revival in the mid and late 1940s, Chinese cinema was nationalized. Bu Wancang’s The Peach Girl (1931) was a familiar tale of romance and loss which packed in messages about social status and class division. ![]() ![]() More importantly, compassion for ordinary Chinese people was the predominant focus in these films. It strived for a sense of realism laced with melodrama. Unlike Hollywood, the early Chinese cinema was not interested in escapism and glamor. It led to the first golden age in Chinese cinema. Port city Shanghai became the hub for Chinese cinema in the 1920s. The first film in China was made in the year 1905. From The Goddess (1934) to So Long, My Son (2019), here are the best Chinese movies that should be on your watchlist.Ĭhina has a long, powerful, and tumultuous history of filmmaking. ![]()
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