National Customs
In 1930, two sisters from the countryside, the serious Zhang Lan and the frivolous Zhang Tao graduate from secondary school where their mother Zhang Jie serves as principal. They both love their cousin Zuo, but have ambitions other than marriage. Their lives change dramatically when both attend university in Shanghai and encounter modern urban life and rapidly changing society. The film also depicts the emergence of Chiang Kai-shek's 1934 New Life Movement. Lianhua Film Studio did the film to appease the Nationalist Party which accused it of primarily presenting left-wing films, which was true.
From the archive
A 1935 B&W Chinese movie, with Chinese intertitles. It stars Ruan Lingyu and Lily Li, two of the biggest female stars of the area, and was Ruan Lingyu's final role, being released after her suicide. It was filmed by Kuomintang-aligned Bo Ying Studios.
Why this is free to watch
National Customs (1935) is hosted by the Internet Archive as a public-domain or openly licensed work, which means its copyright has expired, lapsed, or was released by the rights holder. No signup, no payment and no advertising interrupts playback. Nitrate streams the file directly from the Internet Archive and hosts no video itself.
- Director
- Zhu Shilin
- Starring
- Cho-cho Lam, Li Lili, Peng Luo, Ruan Lingyu, Zheng Jun-li, Y. C. Wong Kwan-Ching, Xu Wen, Jingling Hong
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