New Women (1935)

Original title

新女性

Directed by

Cai Chusheng

Genre

drama film, silent film

Country

Republic of China

Runtime

1h 46m

Rating

6.7 of 10 from 16 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A silent film about a woman struggling against traditional gender roles in 1930s China. The story criticizes old social conventions and portrays the pressures that lead to tragedy.

dramatictragicsocially consciousmelancholicstylizedpoignantseriousthought-provoking

What happens

New Women (Chinese: 新女性; pinyin: Xīn nǚxìng) is a 1935 Chinese silent drama film produced by the United Photoplay Service. It is sometimes translated as New Woman. The film starred Ruan Lingyu (in her penultimate film) and was directed by Cai Chusheng. This film became one of Ruan Lingyu's better-known works. Her suicide on International Women's Day (8 March 1935) drew attention to the controversial status of new women and made this film a sensation in modern China. New Women was considered to be a "problem film" in inciting "the woman question" (妇女问题, fùnü wèntí). It offered criticism to the traditional gender ideology and offered China a change from "old women" to "new women" as an alternative social convention. New Women was based upon the life of Chinese actress and writer, Ai Xia, who had committed suicide in 1934. Ai Xia's death following her role in A Modern Woman (1933) inspired Cai Chusheng to emulate the tragedy in this film. A print of New Women is currently maintained by the China Film Archive. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

• Song of China (1935)
• The Light of Maternal Instinct (1933)
• The Little Angel
• Spirit of Freedom (1935)
• Sons and Daughters in a Time of Storm (1935)
• A Spray of Plum Blossoms (1931)
• Plunder of Peach and Plum (1934)
• The Lost Lamb (1936)