The peach girl
by Wancang Bu
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Chow Lee-Lee, Lili Zhou, Lingyu Ruan, Wong Kwai-ling, Yan JinDirector: Wancang Bu
Cinematographer: Shaofen Huang
Writer: Wancang Bu
Producer: Richard J. Meyer
Writer: Richard J. Meyer
DVD: Region Code 0
Format: NTSC
DVD Release Date: 2006-12-01
Studio: Guangzhou Beauty Culture Communication Co.Ltd
Movie Reviews of The peach girl
Movie Review: A Tender Romance
Summary: 5 Stars
"A blossom fell, and touched two lips that lied." -- An American standard, sung best by Nat King Cole
The tender beauty of this most lovely example of Chinese silent cinema is itself like the touch of a falling peach blossom brushing against the cheek. Peach Blossom Weeps Tears of Blood was the original title of this Bu Wancang film from 1931. Completed on the eve of Japanese invasion, it remains as poetic and relevant in its depiction of true love divided by social class today, as it certainly was then. It has the added distinction of starring Ruan Ling-yu and Korean born Jin Yan, two good friends in real life who were the Garbo and Valentino of China. The enchanting Ruan would end her own life a few years later due to deep personal problems aggravated by harsh and unfair scrutiny in the press. The line of mourners at her Shanghai funeral extended for miles, eclipsing even the great Valentino.
The Chinese peach tree is a symbol of love, sorrow, and tears, the color of its blossoms said to be that of human tear drops. Farmer Loo Chi (Wong Kwai-ling) is very proud at the birth of his baby girl. When she cries at the peach blossom, her mother (Chow Lee-lee) plants a tree and tells her little girl the blossoms will reflect her life story. Lim (Ruan Ling-yu) is just a toddler when Mrs. King brings her son Teh-en with her to visit, and knowing nothing of poor and privileged, the two form a bond stretched to tragedy by class lines. A romantic walk together through the peach garden years later, and a trip in secret to the annual Temple Fair, will seal their love, and fate.
Teh-en (Jin Yan) is very much in love with Lim, but is unable to convince his mother to disregard the tradition binding him to marry in his own class. To do so would result in being disowned by a parent who has sacrificed for him her entire life, but is too constricted by class distinction to allow her son true happiness. It leads to a deception by Teh-en so that the two may forge a life of bliss in secret. But Lim, thinking his mother has finally approved, is shamed when her father comes for her and she discovers the truth. Her mother is dying, and Lim's anger at the deception is even more tragic now that a child is on the way.
The scenes of romantic happiness between Teh-en and Liam are utterly charming, Ruan especially enchanting and wistful, a reminder of her impact on Chinese cinema. Beautifully photographed by Wong Siao Fen, there is a romantic glow to this film only found in the silent art form. Bu uses the peach tree to trace the couple's romantic fortunes, the branches blooming in the spring of love, and withering as tragedy approaches. A distraught and exhausted Teh-en running away to be with his only love, Lim, while she hangs on, is terribly romantic. A consent may come too late, and peach petals scattered on a tomb will indicate two hearts are buried there.
Thanks to my wife, I have been fortunate enough to see this film on a nicely packaged dvd from Lianhua Film Company, taken directly from a 35 mm print in the China Film Archive, with a lovely score by Donald Sosin. The print is excellent, and I suggest tracking one down if possible. But if this can't be done, the film is worth seeing for silent film fans in any format, even if it is not as peachy as the one I have viewed. A tender masterpiece of China silent cinema, and a lovely look at one of only 29 films left in legacy of the most lovely and talented of blossoms, Ruan Ling-yu.
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