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神女 (The Goddess)

Director: Wu Yonggang

- It's easy to see why this is often hailed as the "pinnacle" of Chinese silent film.  It's an accomplished melodrama that might have drawn inspiration from Borzage or von Sternberg (and seems of a similar lineage to Mizoguchi's early work), but carries a style distinct from these.  My heart was in my throat  near the end.

- I was surprised to see equal access to education be such a prominent theme - there were definite parallels to modern educational segregation in the way that the other parents want the child of a prostitute out of their school (in this case for the sake of "reputation"). It definitely hit home.
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