[Film Review] Myriads of Lights (1948) 7.3/10

Attending a cinema projection during the week-long special screenings of films from erstwhile Chinese movie star Shangguan Yunzhu (1920-1968), whose own extraordinary life, which is abruptly cut short by a persecution-induced suicide, truly deserves a biopic treatment, Yours Truly watched MYRIADS OF LIGHTS, one of her major works, in its restored, pristine silver-screen luster.

In Shanghai, the nuclear family of Hu Zhiqing (Lan), a functionary working for his old friend Qian Jianming (Qi), has been inconveniently extended when his mother (Wu) arrives from the countryside along with the entire family of his younger brother Chunsheng (Shen), under the false message that Zhiqing is living high on the hog (as Zhiqing boasts in his letters). As a result, 8 persons must squeeze in a single apartment (5 adults with 3 children), and their hand-to-mouth existence engenders familial squabbles, especially Zhiqing’s pregnant wife Lan Youlan (Shangguan), albeit her meek disposition and filial devotion, has to sell her jewelries (even their wedding rings) to make ends meet. When it rains it pours, Zhiqing is soon sacked by the treacherous Qian, and Chunsheng is unable to find a proper job, the tension escalates, with altercations, miscarriage, public battery and a car accident following,

Clearly, director Shen Fu draws upon the centuries-old dissension between a wife and her mother-in-law, to heighten the melodrama, but also handle the situation with adequate tact, like Zhiqing’s final utterance: it is nobody’s fault but the time, the post-war privation and inflation is a burden to everyone. At the same time, the film also explicitly exhorts the populace to huddle together with the proletariat (exemplified by Zhiqing’s cousin, a factory worker and her young colleagues) other than the wicked bourgeoisie (epitomized by Qian and his lackey),

Shot with an expressive, dexterous fluency both in interior and exterior surroundings, MYRIADS OF LIGHTS also foregrounds strong, less theatrical performances that are very much heartfelt. Shangguan Yunzhu fully embodies all the virtues of a traditional, loving mother and supporting wife, but also can grasp the nettle in a pinch; Wu Yin (only 39 years old, under convincing senile makeup), is a spry matriarch with a sonorous vocality; and caught between two strong-willed women, Lan Ma also makes Zhiqing’s dilemma and affliction vividly compelling, whereas Gao Zheng’s cigarette-offering Xiaozhao, the sympathetic coworker of Zhiqing, is a comic relief exuding unfeigned conviviality, an indispensable component of this fairly-arranged dramedy wearing its proselytizing heart decisively on its sleeve.

referential entries: Fei Mu’s SPRINGTIME IN A SMALL TOWN (1948, 8.2/10); BuWancang’s THE SOUL OF CHINA (1948, 6.2/10).