Street Angel (1937 film)

Street Angel, a story of solidarity, friendship, and love amongst the dregs of urban society, has been interpreted in different ways. The film successfully "describe[s] the wide gulf between rich and poor in the city".[8] According to the Encyclopedia of Chinese Film, the film is "certainly a critique of Shanghai's semi-colonialist society... it has even been described as a Chinese forerunner of Italian neo-realism. A canonized leftist film, it combines Hollywood and Soviet film techniques with traditional Chinese narrative arts." [9] Some scholars believe the film to have been inspired by American director Frank Borzage's 1927 Seventh Heaven, though the title recalls Borzage's film of the same name from 1928, Street Angel.[6] In addition to the clear American influence, the notable Soviet influence appears in such formal choices as the extensive use of quick cuts of close-ups, and in the visually-captivating opening sequence. These techniques are often seen in other classic films such as City Scenes (Dushi fengguang) in 1935.[10] Accordingly, the dazzling three-minute opening sequence of the 1937 Street Angels displays “a key trope of the cinematic portrayal of 1930s Shanghai: the simultaneous existence of competing forces from different colonial powers. Tensions among various visual and aural elements are arranged in an ostensibly chronological order, a form also popular in the European avante-garde cinema of the 1920s.” [4]

Zhou Xuan as Xiao Hong in Street Angel

Alexander Des Forges of the University of Massachusetts-Boston argues that Xiao Chen, not Xiao Hong, is "the primary recipient of the heterosexual gaze" throughout the film, as Chen captures the attention of not only his eventual wife Xiao Hong, but also Xiao Yun and two of his landladies. Like Jin Yan in the 1934 Chinese classic The Big Road, Zhao Dan represented a different kind of male star, with a "jokey and hyperactive sexuality" and masculinity, unlike the more effeminate Chinese male stars of an earlier age.[11]

The Left Wing Movement began in 1930, although it was officially founded in 1932. The movement emphasized anti–imperialism and class struggle. The movement also led to the foundation of the China Film Culture Society (Zhongguo dianying wenhua xiehui) in February, 1933. Some capitalist film studio owners and petty bourgeois filmmakers had the idea to resist Japanese aggression and change society, to a certain degree paralleling the paradigm of the left wing. Consequently, the “Chinese Film Culture Movement (Zhongguo dianying wenhua yundong)” replaced the “Chinese Left Wing Film Movement,” as increasing numbers of professionals in the film production industry joined the China Film Culture Society. The themes of films considered left-wing were usually associated with class struggle; this concretely became the major theme as the movement progressed. Films about class struggle were often filmed from the perspective of laboring people. Until early 1936, left-wing organizations in literature and art circles were dissolved because of the intensified Japanese aggression. The Mingxing studio was closely tied to left-wing film production. Mingxing’s films, aimed at revealing the dimensions of class conflict, caused great responses among viewers.[12]

During the 1930s, Chinese filmmakers were inclined to view cinema as a Western invention. Despite this view, filmmakers in China felt the need to incorporate indigenous and cultural elements that would be deemed more appropriate for Chinese audiences, and they did this mostly through the soundtrack inclusions.[15]

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. The film also features several significant musical interludes.

The two original songs featured in 'Street Angel' are "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. Like the character Xiao Hong, Zhou Xuan herself had barely escaped being sold: at the age of ten, she narrowly avoided being sold to a brothel, and was instead apprenticed to a song and dance troupe based in Shanghai. She went on to become known as the "golden voice," and after she performed the two abovementioned songs in the film, they became popular and are still recognized as musical expressions of the turbulent 1930s era of Chinese history.[16] Today, these two songs continue to be considered two of the most famous songs in modern Chinese culture. The use of these popular songs, amongst other popular songs of their era, were used to express and emphasize national Chinese characteristics, distinguishing Chinese culture from that of the West.

"The Wandering Songstress" was derived from tanci (a traditional story–telling performance originating in Suzhou). It combined a traditional element, in that it was accompanied by a Huqin (a two–string bowed instrument).[17]

While both songs were essential to the film’s success, “Song of the Four Seasons,” specifically, was pivotal in that it was performed alongside pseudo-documentary war footage. “Song of the Four Seasons” offers an insight into this era's circumstances of suffering that led to people’s plight: it compels the audience with its lyrical description of a maiden driven away from her home, the musical tale accompanied by a montage of war images that evoked Japan’s invasion of Manchuria.[18] Because the footage was played alongside the performance of a love song, the film was able to deliver a message condemning the Japanese invasion without arousing the censors. In late 1930s Shanghai, the National Party exercised strict control over cultural production, meaning that any reference to the Japanese invasion was prohibited, to prevent provoking the masses to rise against Japan’s military aggression.[19]

According to scholar Jean Ma, the differences in the two songs present two separate fates for Xiao Hong: she could either become the possession of the wealthy teahouse client, Mr. Gu, or the lover of the poor musician, Xiao Chen. There are also differences in the film's thematic articulation of the songs, as Xiao Hong offers her values and affection in her performance of "The Wandering Songstress," but shows more resistance in her performance of "Song of the Four Seasons".

'Street Angels' constructed a theatrical-style mise-en–scéne by using the distinctive element of a back alley, or lilong (里弄), in Shanghai. Lilongs are a typical architectural feature in Shanghai that can be dated back to the city's founding. People’s gaze in the illustrations directed the viewer’s attention from a higher position to a lower position. The lower buildings became the focus, as they are the object of the woman’s gaze in the illustration. This type of composition can be seen in periodicals from the 1880s onwards, as well as in collections such as 'An Illustrated Explanation of Local Customs' (風俗志圖說, Fengsu zhi tushuo) and 'A Hundred Beauties of Shanghai' (海上百艷圖, Haishang baiyan tu). The theatre is used as model to represent the urban streets and alleys of Shanghai. People’s downward gaze from the box seats is similar to that of the characters in the picture: over–looking alleys from the second floor. Therefore, Shanghai's alleys are fundamentally theatrical in nature. In 'Street Angels,' the setting enhances the mise– en–scéne in the way that it features people leaning out of windows and watching alleys. When the shot return to the balcony, it signals the narrative beginning. Many shots in 'Street Angel' are from second–storey windows, reminding viewers of the composition of the lithographed illustration and the view from the box seats in stage theatres. Also, the shots between Xiao Hong and Xiao Chen’s second–floor rooms maintain the practice of theatrical spectatorship. The equal attention devoted between Xiao Hong and Xiao Chen, which is created by a 180 pan, is similar to the exchanges between men and women in box seats in the theatre.[20]