205. Xiao cheng zhi chun/Spring in a Small Town (1948)

Running Time: 93 minutes
Directed By: Fei Mu
Written By: Li Tianji
Main Cast: Wei Wei, Shi Yu, Li Wei, Cui Chaoming, Zhang Hongmei

DID THEY REALLY PLAY DRINKING GAMES IN CHINA BACK THEN?

Continuing on with a 100 that will be (and has been) thick with films from the 1940s and 2000s, we come to a lesser known piece of Chinese cinema from 1948 - "Spring in a Small Town". I had no expectations for this one going in and came out with a varied opinion. A very average film, to say the least.

The film follows the lives of a married couple, living in post-WWII China. On a completely unrelated note, I wonder how many films in THE BOOK take place during, just before or just after World War II. My guess is a lot! Anyway, Yuwen (Wei Wei) is facing a sort of depression. She is loyal to her husband, but knows that their marriage is worn out. They don't speak and she feels that perhaps it's "words that separate them". The husband, Liyan (Yu), spends his days sitting in the garden and kicking back medicine at different daily intervals, as he is ill. The couple also live with Liyan's sister, Xiu (Hongmei); she's sixteen and spends her days at school. One day, unexpectedly, Liyan receives a visit from his old friend Zhang Zhichen (Li Wei), now a doctor. It also turns out that Yuwen and Zhang are former lovers. Liyan invites Zhang to stay with them for a while. He accepts and while there, looks after Liyan and his heart condition. Meanwhile, Yuwen and Zhang tiptoe around, trying not to spill the beans about their lost love.

I was all set to come in here and advocate for this film to be remade, but apparently it's already been done with "Springtime in a Small Town", back in '02. I'd really like to see that and see if they were able to improve on some of the things this film was lacking. For example, a more powerful score for this one would have done a world of difference in excelling this film to the next level and really hammering home some of the emotions that were swirling in the picture. Also, I realize that "Spring in a Small Town" is from 1948, but the copy that I watched was very grainy and the cinematography just wasn't poignant enough. If you'd had a guy like Sven Nykvist (a name off the top of my head) to work with the story here, you could've capitalized on the story and really set a better mood, just with some crisper camera shots and a more somber atmosphere.

I'm actually really surprised that Hollywood hasn't remade this, as it seems like the perfect story that they usually bait their hook with to nab an Oscar. Of course, the story (loveless marriage, an old flame returning) has been done to death. It's a story we've seen a million times, but this one was from 1948, at a time when nothing had really been done to death and had they had the aforementioned elements in place, this really would have been a must see. As it is, I'm not really sure why it was included in THE BOOK. I read something about this film being banned in it's home country for years, due to the risque subject matter, so maybe that's why THE BOOK felt the need to include it...I don't know.

RATING: 6/10 To avoid the risk of rambling, we'll keep it short today. Like "The Best Years of Our Lives", this isn't terrible and perhaps with a second viewing (someday) I'll appreciate it more.

MOVIES WATCHED: 427
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 574

April 18, 2012 6:00pm