Shen nu / The Goddess (1934) :
Brief Review :
An early path-breaking Classic from Chinese Cinema. As a woman she is a Prostitute but as a Mother she is The Goddess. Wow! This is a fine example of extraordinary writing based on ordinary people where at one side you show her as a prostitute and on the other side you show The Goddess hidden in her in the form of A Mother. Street walker by night, devoted mother by day, a woman fights to get her young son an education amid criminal and social injustice in China. Actually, it wasn't just about China but almost all the prostitutes were caught in the same vortex all over the world. The society had a clear mindset of not accepting the prostitute which was fair but not accepting her child whom she wants to make a good man was completely unfair. I am glad to know that someone like Wu Yonggang broke the silence on it in early 30s and set the trend of path-breaking and thought-provoking cinema that too in an industry like China where the sensitivity of this subject was damn too high. The Goddess is not just a powerful writing but also a highly emotional drama which will leave you teary-eyed for sure assuming that you understand the love and sacrifice of a mother for her child. Apart from that, you get to see one of finest performance by any Chinese actress of that time performed by Ruan Lingyu. The cinematic sense of director Wu Yonggang was matchless. He crafted the vulgar character without showing any offensive content, rather he kept it very audience friendly for all ages, including underage audience. Overall, The Goddess is a Must Watch for everyone who has ever loved his mother and for cinema lovers it has a terrific and daring content which was nothing short of trendsetter. Indeed, One of the most important film from Golden age of Chinese Cinema.
RATING - 8/10*
By - #samthebestest
An early path-breaking Classic from Chinese Cinema. As a woman she is a Prostitute but as a Mother she is The Goddess. Wow! This is a fine example of extraordinary writing based on ordinary people where at one side you show her as a prostitute and on the other side you show The Goddess hidden in her in the form of A Mother. Street walker by night, devoted mother by day, a woman fights to get her young son an education amid criminal and social injustice in China. Actually, it wasn't just about China but almost all the prostitutes were caught in the same vortex all over the world. The society had a clear mindset of not accepting the prostitute which was fair but not accepting her child whom she wants to make a good man was completely unfair. I am glad to know that someone like Wu Yonggang broke the silence on it in early 30s and set the trend of path-breaking and thought-provoking cinema that too in an industry like China where the sensitivity of this subject was damn too high. The Goddess is not just a powerful writing but also a highly emotional drama which will leave you teary-eyed for sure assuming that you understand the love and sacrifice of a mother for her child. Apart from that, you get to see one of finest performance by any Chinese actress of that time performed by Ruan Lingyu. The cinematic sense of director Wu Yonggang was matchless. He crafted the vulgar character without showing any offensive content, rather he kept it very audience friendly for all ages, including underage audience. Overall, The Goddess is a Must Watch for everyone who has ever loved his mother and for cinema lovers it has a terrific and daring content which was nothing short of trendsetter. Indeed, One of the most important film from Golden age of Chinese Cinema.
RATING - 8/10*
By - #samthebestest