Underplayed Gems

New Women (1935)

New Women poster
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
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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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)

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