Shen nu

Young filmmaker Wu Yonggang was one of many thriving filmmakers working in Shanghai's movie industry during China's pre-Communist years. His first effort for Lianhua Film Company (United Photoplay), one of the city's three major movie studios, was December 1934 "The Goddess." Shanghai was China's version of Hollywood during the early 1930s. The city's Western influences in cinema were driven primarily by American film technicians who were invited to visit the city during the late 1920s to teach the Chinese how to operate the latest film equipment. As one of the world's most modern cities, Shanghai was a melting pot for wealthy capitalists, radical intellectuals and dissidents. And from that bustling region many talented filmmakers, including Wu Yonggang, were creating the country's best movies. The 1930s marked the first "Golden Period" of Chinese cinema--otherwise known as the 'left-wing' film movement--which examined class struggles, especially in the lower one, and lasted until the mid-1937 Japanese invasion of the country.

The writer/director Wu Yonggang showed enough potential from his first couple of minor films to be hired by Lianhua. His first major movie focuses on a mother (Ruan Lingyu) whose love for her baby boy is so great it shows no boundaries. There is only one glitch: she's a streetwalker. She gets in a jam when she comes across 'The Boss' (Zhang Zhizhi). Despite his controlling her life, the mother, labeled "The Goddess," is able to save enough money to send her son (La Hang) to a private school. The kid is taunted by his classmates for his mother's profession, but the principal feels sorry for him, and plays a crucial role in his life after the child's mother undergoes a series of overwhelming tragedies.

"The Goddess" has been interpreted as symbolizing the city of Shanghai itself, with an unusually high percentage of its women, estimated at over ten percent, resorting to street walking. Wu Yonggang's movie draws upon the brutalization of the women as being trampled upon by those apathetic wealthy capitalists who victimize them for their own pleasure. 'The Boss' has traits of foreign influence who take advantage of these vulnerable women. Similar to Hollywood's Hayes Office of Censorship, Shanghai's movie code forced Wu to toe the line. 'When I first set out to write about the goddesses," the director related, "I wished to show more of their real lives, but circumstances would not permit me to do so."

"The Goddess" belongs to the "fallen woman" category that was popular during Hollywood's silent film era and the early 1930s. The movie adapted elements from such movies as 1925's 'Stella Dallas" and 1929's "Madame X," with a dash of 1932's "Blonde Venus." Actress Lingyu Ruan plays the mother whose only talent is working the streets. At the time of filming, Ruan was one of China's biggest movie stars, earning the label 'China's Greta Garbo.' Just like her character in "The Goddess," Ruan fell in love with a gambler, Zhang Damin, and supported his losing habit. She broke up with him while making this movie and was dating a married tea tycoon, Tang Jishan, who bought her a mansion and made her his mistress. Former lover Zhang heard about the arrangement and filed a lawsuit against her, claiming she owned him money. The lawsuit and her dalliances made national headlines.

The 1991 movie "Center Stage" about Ruan's life, directed by Stanley Kwan, renewed interest in the actress's film career and placed a spotlight on Shanghai's burgeoning movie industry during the 1930s. "The Goddess" has been recognized as one of the greatest films in China's "Golden Age of Cinema," and is listed in the reference book as one of the '1001 Movies You Should See Before You Die.'

The Goddess (Lingyu Ruan) works the Shanghai street as a prostitute to raise her beloved son. She falls under the control of The Boss. She tries to escape the life but she is pushed back in. He's an illiterate sadistic brute who even pretends to sell her son to put her in fear. Her son is ostracized by the other kids and she uses her hard earned money to pay for an education. The other parents find out and try to get him expelled. The elderly principal struggles to let him stay but he is unsuccessful. The boss steals the money she had hidden away.

This is a throughly modern movie. It's a silent movie from China. The lead actress is terrific. It is such a downtrodden portrayal. It's also amazing to see Shanghai during its 30s Golden Age. This is a treasure of a time gone by.

As an ancient Chinese poet has mentioned before, "it is even mesmerizing to be silent rather than with sound"... this is what i would like to quote here to describe the feeling when i was watching " Shennv".

A quite simple plot, but truly a heartbreak story...Even though it is not a talkie, no background music( the VCD version i watched), no color, but her splendid acting already captured my heart, the way she express the sorrow and the ambivalent being a wonderful mother and a depressed prostitute is simply captivating...I am wandering how a young actress (she should be 24 at that time), without any formal education of performing art, will able to achieve such a superb and impressive acting skills...no doubt she has become one of the screen legend in cinema history...

it is no doubt a genuine classics in Chinese silent cinema, worth watching...

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

This film stars the beautiful and tragic actress Ruan Ling Yu as a prostitute in Shanghai, whose life is devoted to having her son excel in life. She is a prostitute so she can make money for him. Along the way, a man rescues her from the police and becomes her pimp, not exactly of her own choosing. The story is her struggle. In a lesser actress this could have been too sentimental and unrealistic. Ruan Ling Yu is amazing in this role. Keeping in mind this is a silent film, her expressions and mannerisms have to be on target and they always are. The concept of a prostitute with a heart of gold has been fairly overdone, but Ruan Ling Yu is so great, it makes the film great. A tragedy that she took her life at 24, it is a loss to anyone who watches films. Just a terrific film.