 |
|
| Movies Forum Index » Silent Movies Forum » "Shen Nu" (1934) By Yonggang Wu... |
|
Page 1 of 1 |
|
| Author |
Message |
| Ferdinand Von Galitzien... |
 Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2009 7:29 pm |
|
|
|
Guest
|
Aristocrats must maintain their status of eccentricity in order to be
observed as being above the herd but this is a hard task lately since
nowadays even common people also have strange habits and behaviours
that even for a German count are difficult to understand.
But this Herr Von fears not those coarse longhaired youngsters of
today
and still has many opportunities to be out of the ordinary; so
accordingly with this aristocratic precept, last night in the Schloss
theatre a Chinese silent film was shown.
"Shen Nu" ( The Goddess ) tells the story of a prostitute ( Dame Ruan
Ling-Yu ) who will have to endure many hardships and social prejudices
due to her occupation; meanwhile she is trying to raise her own little
child. The shadows of the night extend through the Shanghai streets
where she tries to make her poor living and her life is made more
troublesome because of a gangster who has forced himself on her and
acts as a kind of pimp. And of course she must also cope with the
continual prejudices and isolation that she suffers from her
neighbours
while she struggles to give her child the best school education.
The film was directed by someone unknown to this German count who
actually knows little about Chinese film directors and hopes to
eventually end this ignorance. Herr Yonggang Wu is the director and
the
film is from the not precisely silent year of 1934… by now, it is well
known among silent connoisseurs that in the Far East, the film
companies continued to produce silent films until the mid 30's because
of slow technical improvements in the industry and in the theatres.
"Shen Nu" is a good example of that Asian silent peculiarity and after
having seen this film, this Herr Graf accordingly can describe this
oeuvre as a talkie but without sound due to its technical qualities
and
style of film narrative.
The film is a remarkable oeuvre that astonishes the audience with its
honestly in depicting (without moralizing) the hard and unhappy life
of
our heroine, reflected in the Shanghai streets at night and her
dealings with her anonymous clients while living in a sordid apartment
where she has to endure the annoying company of the pimp as she tries
to raise her child. Our heroine persists because she knows that a good
education is essential for her son so that he may have a better life
than his mother. In the ending she must sacrifice herself for her
child's happiness, not an unusual resolution for a film made in the
30's.
Dame Ruan Ling-Yu was the most famous actress during the Chinese
silent
film era, an actress with an intense but short career and who had much
in common with her unhappy character in the film. She met a tragic
end,
a suicide at a very early age. Oddly enough, goddess was a nickname
for
prostitutes in Shanhgai
As this German count mentioned before, "Shen Nu" is a late silent film
that doesn't play like a silent but seems strangely modern. It is a
remarkable and interesting melodrama about the Shanghai slums and the
prejudices and hypocrisies of modern society.
And now, if you'll allow me, I must temporarily take my leave because
this German Count must adore a Teutonic deity.
Herr Graf Ferdinand Von Galitzien
http://ferdinandvongalitzien.blogspot.com/ |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
| Old Movie Fan... |
| Posted: Sat Sep 19, 2009 8:29 am |
|
|
|
Guest
|
Quote: From: ferdinandvongalitzien at (no spam) gmail.com
(Ferdinand Von Galitzien)
....by now, it is well known among silent
connoisseurs that in the Far East, the film
companies continued to produce silent films
until the mid 30's because of slow technical
improvements in the industry and in the
theatres.
Slow technical improvements aside, the Asian countries have a long
history of theater, where the art of pantomime is most important. It is
in their culture.
Quote: "Shen Nu" is a good example of that Asian
silent peculiarity and after having seen this
film, this Herr Graf accordingly can describe
this oeuvre as a talkie but without sound due
to its technical qualities and style of film
narrative.
While this may seem strange to us, we must remember that 'Asian love
for all things Western'.
For this reason, most all sound films that they would have seen would
have been foreign, and require subtitles, not too far removed from what
Herr Graf is describing. The Asian audience was more accustomed to
modern sound film than the silent film melodrama.
Most likely, few had been fortunate enough to have seen even just one
silent film. They could not make these comparisons as we can today.
The director himself was probably influenced more with sound pictures
than silent ones.
And now, a personal memory on this subject:
In 1967, I spent a year in Korea and have fond memories of attending a
screening of "Cleopatra" at a remote village theater.
When you think about it, "Cleopatra" does seem something like an Asian
pantomime because of it's very slow pace in telling the story in
beautiful costumes.
This four hour long American film was screened in English, with the
Korean interpretation superimposed onto the image with a slide
projector.
At another time, I was invited to watch a real Korean film being shown
outside in a rural area where the electricity was available only four
hours each night.
This was a big event for the local people, and there was excitement on
everyone's face, both young and old as they waited for the darkness to
come. [ I also remember how welcomed the local people made this tall
American GI feel that night.]
It was quite thrilling (something like a Robin Hood or Zorro film),
and my friend carefully explained to me all that was going on as the
image was projected onto white canvas.
I still remember that in their tradition, the good guys always wore
black!.
The guys in white were the bad guys.
Rich Wagner |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
|
All times are GMT - 5 Hours
The time now is Mon Nov 30, 2009 2:58 am
|
|