Malu tianshi / Street Angel (2012 DCP 2K CFA)

马路天使 (simple) / 馬路天使 (trad) / [Kadun enkeli] / Les Anges du boulevard. CN 1937. PC: Mingxing Film Company (Shanghai) / Star Film. D+SC: Yuan Mu-zhi. DP: Wu Yinxian - b&w - sound - 1,37:1. M: Hu Lu-ding. "Song of the Four Seasons" (四季歌) and "The Wandering Songstress" (天涯歌女), both composed by He Lüting, with lyrics by Tian Han, sung by the star Zhou Xuan. S: mono. C: Zhao Dan (Xiao Chen, musician), Zhou Xuan (Xiao Hong, singing girl), Wei He-ling (Lao Wang, newspaper seller), Wang Jiting (Qin player), Feng Zhicheng (gangster), Chen Yiting (henchman), Qian Qianli (barbershop worker), Tang Chaofu (barbershop owner), Shen Jun (young peddler), Qiu Yuanyuan (unmployed person), Yuan Meishao (young widow), Zhao Hui-chen / Zhao Huishen (Xiao Yun, prostitute), Liu Jinyu (brothel madam), Sun Jing (lawyer), Xie Jun (misfortunate man), Liu Liying (misfortunate woman), Han Yun (police officer), Li Diyuan (rent collector), Yao Ping (dandy), Yuan Aye (car driver). 91 min, 100 min. Our screening 95 min
    Digitized edition (2012, 2K DCP): Zhongguo Dianying Ziliaoguan / China Film Archive (CFA).
    2K DCP from CFA with e-subtitles in English operated by Otto Pietinen, viewed at Cinema Orion, Helsinki (The Best of Chinese Cinema), 13 Sep 2015

Wikipedia: "The film deals with two sisters, Xiao Hong (Zhou Xuan) and Xiao Yun (Zhao Huishen) who have fled from the war in Northeast China to Shanghai, where they are living under the brutal thumb of their adoptive parents. Xiao Yun has already been forced into prostitution while her sister serves as a teahouse singer. Soon the sisters realize that the adoptive parents have decided to sell Xiao Hong to a wealthy patron, whereupon they seek the aid of their neighbors, a street musician, Xiao Chen (Zhao Dan), and his misfit friends."

"As one of the early sound films in China, Street Angel is often praised for its innovative use of music, as well as its unique mix of melodrama and comedy. One sequence in particular, where Xiao Chen and his friends attempt to act as barbers, reveals a moment of slapstick or physical comedy in the otherwise dreary third act. There are also several musical interludes, sung by Zhou Xuan (Xiao Hong)."

"Praised for its portrayal of the downtrodden in Shanghai at the time of its release, today, Street Angel is often considered one of the classics of the "leftist" filmmaking period that reached its peak in the 1930s. It was selected as one of the Best 100 Chinese Motion Pictures by the 24th Hong Kong Film Awards, ranked 11th."

"Featured in the film are two original songs, "Song of the Four Seasons" (四季歌) and "The Wandering Songstress" (天涯歌女), both composed by He Lüting, with lyrics by Tian Han. Sung by star Zhou Xuan, these songs became popular and are still recognized as expressions of the turbulent 1930s era of Chinese history and among the most famous songs in modern Chinese culture." (Wikipedia)

Revisited a wonderful work of Chinese popular culture from the 1930s starring the charismatic singer-actress Zhou Xuan in her favourite role.

"Chinese Renoir" was Georges Sadoul's verdict of Yuan Muzhi's film inspired by Frank Borzage. I believe Sadoul meant the Renoir of Le Crime de Monsieur Lange: cinema of social awareness made in the spirit of comedy, fantasy, fairy-tale, and entertainment.

Malu tianshi is both a serious social drama (the fate of the tragic Xiao Yun in street prostitution) and a musical romantic comedy (the story of the singer Xiao Hong). The sisters have fled the Japanese war of invasion in Manchuria to Shanghai.

The night scenes of Xao Yun with their neon montages seen already during the opening credits belong to the international 1930s trend, with affinities with French poetic realism.

The song scenes are realized as montages of associations, linking Japanese invasion imagery with lyrical images of the seasons. They could be shown independently as short music films belonging to the development that led to the music video.

The milieu is slum-like, the film is about life in poverty, but with vitality and great spirits, incarnated by Xiao Chen the street musician and magician constantly inventing new tricks. Xiao Chen condemns Xiao Yun and first at her deathbed there is a reconciliation. He understands that she has become a victim of human traffic.

The comical, even farcical, dimension culminates in the disastrous barbershop sequence. The desperate friends run out of money and cannot pay the rent and are anxious to try anything.

A running joke is about reading items from the newspapers glued to walls. The walls are crumbling and need constant repairing by fresh newspapers.

A unique film about the spirit of the times in Shanghai.

The visual quality of the DCP: it looks like it has been digitized from partly difficult and worn sources, perhaps even from 16 mm. At times the visual quality is good, making possible to project how the entire film must have looked; at times the image is on the soft side. There were slight freezes (part of the image or the whole image) and other digital issues. A rewarding screening even so.

OUR PROGRAM NOTE BASED ON JAY LEYDA BEYOND THE JUMP BREAK:
OUR PROGRAM NOTE BASED ON JAY LEYDA BEYOND THE JUMP BREAK:

Tämä 1930-luvun shanghailaisen "runollisen realismin" mestariteos syntyi Frank Borzagen 1928 ohjaaman elokuvan Street Angel pohjalta, sen kiinalaisena versiona. Tästä huolimatta ohjaaja Yuan Mu-zhi onnistui valamaan aiheeseen oman tyylinsä: henkilöhahmot ovat elävästi piirrettyjä, vuoropuhelu niukkaa ja tehokasta, äänenkäyttö aina eloisaa, tarinan keskeiset kohdat ilmaistaan elein tai kameranliikkein; elokuva alkaa pitkällä kameranliikkeellä Shanghain korkeimmilta katoilta ja päätyy kanavan sotkuiseen pintaan.

"Kiinalaista Renoiria", kirjoitti Sadoul tästä elokuvasta, joka todellakin tapahtuu "pohjalla", Shanghain slummeissa, keskeisenä aiheenaan köyhien välinen veljeys. Lähes maagisin kosketuksin Yuan Mu-zhi kuvaa pientä toveripiiriä, boheemielämän häilyvyyttä ja kurjuutta. Draaman punaisena lankana on rakkaustarina Japanin tuolloin miehittämästä Mantshuriasta saapuneen pakolaistytön, laulajattaren, ja nuoren trumpetistin välillä – jälkimmäistä tulkitsee eräs kuuluisimpia kiinalaisia näyttelijöitä, Zhao Dan, joka kuoli 1970-luvulla ja jonka "testamentti" aiheutti Kiinassa kiihkeän keskustelun.

Harvinaisella tavalla Yuan Mu-zhi on onnistunut elokuvassaan yhdistämään lämmön ja huumorin terävään yhteiskuntakriittiseen näkemykseen. Yuan Mu-zhi kiinnostui teatterista jo lapsena ja vuonna 1930, 21-vuotiaana hän lähti kotoaan ja liittyi Shanghain vasemmistolaisiin teatteriryhmiin. Hän esiintyi ensimmäisen kerran elokuvassa 1934 ja seuraavana vuonna hän kirjoitti ja ohjasi elo-kuvan Kohtauksia kaupunkielämästä. Kadun enkeli oli hänen viimeinen sepite-elokuvansa. Pian sen valmistuttua hän siirtyi näyttelijätärvaimonsa kanssa puna-armeijan tukikohtaan koilliseen, missä hän syksyllä 1938 organisoi Jenanin elokuvaryhmän ja ohjasi ensimmäisen dokumenttielokuvansa Jenan ja kahdeksan tien armeija (1939).

Vallankumouksen jälkeen Yuan nimitettiin ensimmäiseksi varakulttuuriministeriksi, vastuualueenaan elokuva, mutta niin ikään ministeriksi nimitetyn vaimonsa äkillisen kuoleman jälkeen hän vetäytyi syrjään kaikesta elokuvatyöstä. Mikään julkinen esiintyminen tai velvollisuus ei ole katkaissut tätä hiljaiseloa. 1957, vähän ennen "sadan kukan kampanjan" päättymistä, häntä yritettiin jälleen saada takaisin työhön mutta ilman tulosta.

– Jay Leydan (Dianying, 1972) ja muiden lähteiden mukaan ST