Underplayed Gems

Labourer's Love (1922)

Labourer's Love poster
Original title
勞工之愛情
Directed by
Zhang Shichuan
Genre
short film, drama film, comedy film, silent film
Country
Republic of China
Runtime
22 min
Rating
5.6 of 10 from 14 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 fruit peddler tries to win the heart of a doctor's daughter. He uses clever tricks and physical comedy to get the doctor's approval.

lightheartedplayfulslapstickupbeatwhimsicalnostalgicgentle

What happens

Laborer's Love (traditional Chinese: 勞工之愛情; simplified Chinese: 劳工之爱情; pinyin: láogōng zhī àiqíng) is a classic silent comedy short film produced in China during the Republican Era, which officially premiered on 5 October 1922 at the Olympic Theater in Shanghai. It is also known as Romance of a Fruit Peddler or Romance of a Fruit Pedlar (Chinese: 掷果缘; pinyin: zhì guǒ yuán). Even though filmmaking in China began in the 1890s, Laborer's Love is the earliest complete film from China's early cinematic history that is available today. The film was also one of the earliest productions of the soon-to-be prolific Mingxing Film Company and was directed and written by Mingxing co-founders Zhang Shichuan and Zheng Zhengqiu. Notably, the film has both Chinese and English intertitles, indicating that at this early point in Shanghai cinema history, films were tailored to both Chinese and Western audiences. In addition to the English intertitle cards, the short film further showcased Western influence in Chinese filmmaking, such as taking inspiration from American silent film comedians Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd. A subtitled version of the film, which represents differences between the Chinese and English text of the intertitles, is available on YouTube. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

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