Street Angels (1937)

 

Film: Street Angels

Director: Yuan Muzhi

Country: China

Released: July 1937

Runtime: 91 minutes

Genre: Romance

Studio: Mingxing

Influenced: Fei Mu, King Hu, Cheng Kaige, Zhang Yimou, Jia Zhangke 

A little bit of historical context is important: after Japan invaded Manchuria in 1931, nationalism in China was on the rise and 30s films took on a more political slant as a result. This led to what's considered the "golden age" of Chinese cinema from 1932 onwards, characterised by intellectual left-wing directors and film stars like Ruan Lingyu, China's answer to Greta Garbo. Street Angels is considered to be one of the classics of this golden age, which came to an abrupt end with the outbreak of WWII. 

Street Angels doesn't start in the most auspicious way, with its frantic and screechy score, but it's a film worth sticking with. The story immediately immerses us in the Shanghai slums of 1935 and through the streets we see appear a marching band, in an impressive opening scene in which we're introduced to the two main characters, Chen Shaoping (played by Zhao Dan) and Xiao Hong (played by Zhou Xuan). From the outset, we get a sense of these two lovers being from two different worlds, one a more modernly dressed trumpet player and the other the singer of songs in an ancient Chinese folk style.

The scenes that feature Xiao Hong singing both Song of the Four Seasons and Songstress at the Ends of the Earth are among the film's highlights, and thanks to Street Angels' popularity in the Chinese imagination both songs are still celebrated classics. Also impressive is how the film tackles the issue of inequality and oppression with pathos and comedy. In one scene we're given a sense how a lack of education limits the life chances of the Shanghai underclass, with all the characters struggling to know how to write the word "adversity" in Chinese characters, a bittersweet comedic moment. 

Director Yuan Muzhi was influenced by both Soviet and American films but his style is uniquely his own. Street Angels combines music, comedy (notably the magic trick scene and the Three Stooges style barbershop antics), drama and tragedy (the death of the prostitute Xiao Yun) in a style unfamiliar to western audiences. Part of the reason for its abiding success is that people saw themselves in the "new citizen" characters being portrayed on screen, and that's credit to the great script and lively performances.