Scenes of City Life
Scenes of City Life is a 1935 Chinese comedy-drama film directed by Yuan Muzhi. It is also translated as Cityscape. It is noted for being the first film directed by Yuan, as well as the first film appearance of Jiang Qing (or Lan Ping, as she then called herself), who later became Mao Zedong's fourth wife. The film deals with themes of struggle under a capitalist system. It is a type of Shanghai film from the 1930s that were all involved in music, cinema, fashion, advertising, which contributed to the "Shanghai mystique". This film shares the style at that time with other movies like music, cinema, fashion and advertising which contributed to "Shanghai mystique" which embodied Shanghai's sophisticated pride.
Plot
Outside a station from New Village to Shanghai, families await its opening in anticipation of their travels. Bystanders sing praises of Shanghai, excited about the bustling city life. Li Menghua, Zhang Xiaoyun, and Xiaoyun’s parents look into a nearby peep show showcasing Shanghai’s city scenes. The film transitions into an imaginary Shanghai where they live out scenarios of their lives in the bustling city.
Cast
More details
author | Yuan Muzhi |
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director | Yuan Muzhi |
genre | comedy-drama |
keywords | alternate reality begin belong buy city life hide hopelessly in love local newspaper lose love letters married meet open peep show run away sleeping pill sneak out steal train station walk want wed |
musicBy | He Lüting |
producer | Ma Dejian |
productionCompany | Diantong Film Company |