A young woman is forced to work as a prostitute to provide for her young son. Against her will, she becomes dependent on a man who robs her of all her savings…
The Goddess is often considered as the apogee of Chinese silent film. Wu Yonggang shows a modern China threatened by new contradictions. In his filming of Ruan Lingyu at the height of her art, the filmmaker experiments with a thousand different ways of lighting a face. The acting is in a register rarely found in silent film – surprisingly restrained and true to life.
M.M.
