Home 
Film THE GODDESS
Film THE GODDESS
| THE GODDESS |
THE GODDESSDir: Wu Yonggang1934, Black and White, Silent, 95 minutes (1934) Starring: Ruan Lingyu  Sometimes hailed as ‘the Greta Garbo of China’, silent screen siren Ruan Lingyu committed suicide in 1935 at only 25. Her legend lives on, and she is the subject of Stanley Kwan’s 1991 biopic, Centre Stage. The Goddess was Ruan’s next-to-last film, and her most famous. Its title derives from the old Shanghai term for a woman sex worker. But the film also captures the impossible moral contradictions of the era. Ruan’s character is an exemplary single mother determined to pay for her son’s education—but there is only one way to earn the money. The film also showcases Ruan’s silent acting talents, with close-ups of fleeting emotions crossing her face and long shots in which her body language speaks volumes. |
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
