Tao hua qi xue ji

Peach Girl, The (1931)

*** (out of 4)

Chinese silent film tells the story of Miss Lim (Lingyu Ruan), a poor peasant girl who grew up with the rich soon to be King (Yan Jin). The two have been friends since childhood but both of their parents try to keep them apart since the rich can't be seen with the poor. Even after the girl gets pregnant, his parents will stop at nothing to keep them apart and her parents agree since the two sides could never be happy together. Apparently China made over 140 silent films in 1931 but I'm not sure how many are out there for viewing. This film really doesn't offer anything new storywise but from a historical viewpoint there are a lot of interesting things with this film. Since American cinema usually had whites playing Asians, it's refreshing to see real Chinese actors playing the parts. Another interesting aspect is that the film is silent even though most American films at this time had already switched to sound. The technical side of this movie is very beautiful to look at with its nice cinematography and great location shots. Lingyu Ruan is terrific in her role and it's really easy to see why she became the countries number one star. The pleasantness she brings to her character makes her easy to fall in love with and she also makes it very easy for us to care what happens to her character. Sadly, Ruan would kill herself four years after making this film and to make matters worse, a lot of her fans would follow by killing themselves. Original Chinese title: Tao hua qi xue ji.

I really believe that Ruan Ling-yu and Jin Yan are a great team. They made several films together which were very popular. Ruan committed suicide at age 24 after making 29 films (see my book "Ruan Ling-yu: The Goddess of Shanghai" for her tragic life story). I am also writing a book about Jin Yan. The Peach Girl is out on a restored version with a beautiful score by Donald Sosin and is available from the San Francisco Silent Film Festival (www.silentfilm.org). The photography of the film reminds one of Chinese landscapes. Lianhua Film Company made many films in the 1930s that were critical of feudalism yet were presented in a soap opera format to fend off KMT censors.

A great, absorbing silent film about a boy and girl who meet as adults and are attracted to each other. The man (Teh-en) is of a higher station than Miss Lim, played by the beautiful, gone way too soon Lily Yuen. You see the sweetness in her eyes and fall in love with her. His mom does not approve, since she is just a country girl, so the love becomes forbidden love. To be sure, films like this have been done since film began, but this is a great one. You just want these two to be happy. It is tragic, but also sweet and so well put together that it is absorbing and eminently watchable. If you thought you couldn't watch a silent film (much less one with subtitles), try this out. I saw it on TCM, but it is available on DVD. Really, its great.