Casts & Crew
Also Directed by Yunwei Ying
Probably the most sheerly entertaining of all the films made in 1930s Shanghai by 'underground' leftists, this riff on The Prisoner of Zenda is funny and engaging from first to last. The irresistible Yuan Muzhi (director of Street Angel the following year) plays both Li Tao, a revolutionary on the run, and Liu Yuanjie, an American-Chinese teacher visiting China with his fiancée. Liu is mistaken for Li and thrown into jail; Li teams up with the fiancée (Chen Bo'er, Yuan's real life wife) to get him out of prison and into the spirit of revolution. Ying Yunwei (who started out playing female roles in Chinese opera) uses chiaroscuro lighting, highly mobile camerawork and zippy pacing to give it maximum impact, but it's Yuan who really keeps you watching.
Set in the period of land reform movement, a poor peasant Zhang gets a fertile land. But he doesn't work seriously on it, then loses money and runs into debt. Song wants to buy Zhang's land but his son thinks that they should help Zhang.
The film tells the tragic story of two recent college graduates, Tao Jianping ("Tao" is a homophone for peach), and Li Lilian ("Li" is a homophone for plum). Married, the two hope to change society for the better, but are continuously challenged by the corruption and injustice of Chinese society.
800 Chinese soldiers guard the important warehouse district against the invading Japanese Army. Re-imagination of a famous (bordering on legendary) episode from the battle of Shanghai: 800 soldiers of the 88th regiment against what feels like the whole of Japan’s Imperial Army - think Thermopylae, Chinese version. A splendid, visually amazing gem which, in its own way, is also a last stand: of silent cinema, Shanghai style. (iffr)
Also Directed by Qiong Liu
Ashima is a brave and beautiful girl of the Sani people, beloved by all. One day as she is down at the lake to fetch water, she hears the sound of a shepherd's flute coming from the hills across the lake. She replies in song.
Feng Suzhen and Li Zhaoting booked a marriage when they were reading together. Soon, Li’s family suffered a disaster and became poor. One day, Li Zhaoting came to Feng Jia to borrow money. Feng Suzhen’s stepmother was so poor that she loved the rich and forced him to retire. Feng Suzhen is unyielding and deeply loves Li Zhaoting. She quietly met Li Zhaoting in the back garden and privately gave silver to help him enter Beijing.
