^Pre-screening introduction
*Post-screening talk by Lau Yam (In Cantonese)
Dir & Scr: Griffin Yue Feng
DP: Wang Shaofen
Cast: Nancy Chan, Wang Yin, Lu Luming, Xu Shenyuan, Sun Min, Bai Hong
This is one of the rare gems in early Chinese musical films that still exists today. Nancy Chan plays a naïve young woman who can sing and dance. Under the arrangement of her stepfather, she becomes a star and indulges in the glitz and glamour of the entertainment world before getting married to a wealthy heir in Nanyang. Yet her husband is cruel and unfaithful, leading her to divorce and return to her parents in Shanghai. While she is set for a comeback to the stage, her young daughter suffers from a serious illness. A remake of the Bu Wanchang’s silent film The Light of Maternal Instinct (1933), this stylish production takes cues from Hollywood musicals, resulting in an elegant and lively fusion of camera movement and musical numbers. Watching the sweet and perky Nancy Chan in bustling Shanghai and moody Nanyang is a true delight. The film also successfully reflects the harsh reality of China in the 1930s and the pathos of popular literature by combining morals, entertainment and social commentary to show that changes in the idea of femininity is a symbol of progress. The ending illustrates the frailty of humans and the penetrating power of art.