Mother and Son

Dir/Scr: Li Pingqian
Orig Story: Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky
Prod Co: Wenhua
Cast: Lu Biyun, Zhang Fa, Yan Jun, Jiang Tianliu, Cui Chaoming
1947 | B&W | DCP | Mandarin | 107min

Also themed on maternal love like The Young Mistress' Fan, this family drama is laced with political metaphors. When a young unwed mother saw her lover married to someone rich and her child snatched away, she left and became a celebrated stage actress many years later. As she returns to Shanghai for the role of Mrs. Lu in Thunderstorm, she feels an odd kinship with the cynical actor who plays her illegitimate son…Li smoothly laid out the multi-generational plot and skilfully weaved the characters' moral convictions and the country's situations into the plot. Actors at the time worked in both theatre and film. With the plot revolving around life and clashes in a drama troupe, the film doubles as an archive of the stage sector during the yesteryears.

The image and sound quality of the screening material is short of ideal. We appreciate your understanding.

Courtesy of China Film Archive