The first two decades after the founding of the People’s Republic of China was marred by a series of turbulent, and sometimes violent political upheavals; some of the notable ones include: Land Reform (1947-1952), The Three Anti/Five Anti Campaigns (1951-1952), Hundred Flowers Campaign (1956-1957), the Anti-Rightist Movement (1957-1959), and The Great Leap Forward (1958-1960). From the late 1950s to mid-1960s, there was a period of relative calmness freed from large-scale political campaigns, and it was during these short-lived years that many filmmakers were able to exercise creative freedom within the framework of the country’s directives, which resulted in some of the best films produced in the early PRC era: New Year’s Sacrifice (1957, Sang Hu), The Lin Family Shop (1959, Shui Hua), Early Spring in February (1963, Xie Tieli). These films by, what can later be regarded as China’s Third or Fourth Generation Directors depict personal struggles against an old system of the old system, and aspiration for better days to come.
Stage Sisters, released in 1964 was actually made during the Socialist Education Movement (1963-1966), which involved “going into the countryside to learn from peasants”. Set in 1935, the story opens with a sweeping wide-shot of the countryside that slowly pans down to a stage of actors performing opera to a group of village peasants. In the fashion like a chorus in a Greek tragedy, the lyrics read: “We act out life’s sorrows and joys, but there are stages beyond those you see.” Peasant girl Chunhua tries to take refuge in the troupe, she is a runaway “bride to child” (girls married by force to underage boys). The troupe leader Xing sees the potential in Chunhua and decides to take her on as a protégé. Chunhua quickly assumes a leading role performing alongside Xing’s daughter Yuehong as the two girls become sworn sisters.
As the troupe travels on, a powerful landlord invites Chunhua and Yuehong to sing at his house privately. The landlord later tries to make an advance on Yuehong, when the troupe refuses to this, they are later barred from performing by the Kuomintang troops, while Chunhua is tied to a pillar for three days as a public humiliation. When the Sino-Japanese war breaks out and master Xing dies of illness resulted by the beatings by the troops, the two sworn sisters move to Shanghai. They sign on to seedy theatre manager Tang for three years, the sisters’ artistry and finesse make them the toast of the Shanghai theatre scene, but Yuehong has also grown more materialistic and eventually becomes Tang’s mistress. Tang has tried to persuade Chunhua to do more “populist” drama for better box-office returns, but Chunhua refuses and maintains her integrity and master Xing’s last words that “acting should be taken seriously”. Chunhua has also got to know a leftist journalist Gao and learns that the theatre should be used as a “tool to educate the people”. Despite objections and threats, Chunhua decides to adapt leftist writer Lu Xun’s story New Year’s Sacrifice for stage to a popular reception. Tang orders his thugs to try to disfigure Chunhua’s face…
In the tradition of Xie Jin’s earlier films like Woman Basketball Player No. 5 (1957) and The Red Detachment of Women (1961), Stage Sisters also features a strong female protagonist, a regular fixture in the early PRC’s arts and culture works that tried to emphasis on the “progress” element. It can be classified as a “personal epic”, whereas great historical events merely serve as “unseen” background to the protagonists’ narratives. True to its title, the film demonstrates director Xie’s fondness of the theatre. The theatrical like staging and meticulously crafted mise-en-scène and art direction, complemented by fluid camera work makes it a rich visual tapestry even after five decades.
The film ends with the reconciliation of the two sisters, once again united to head into the countryside to perform “progress” drama to the peasants. The camera pans up into a wide sweeping shot as they travel by boat to an unknown, supposedly brighter future. Many people have compared this film with Farewell My Concubine (1993, Chen Kaige) that features two male protagonist in a Peking Opera troupe. If Sisters was the romanticize vision of the revolution, then Farewell would be the harsh reality of what came about.
Stage Sisters was the epitome of a new Chinese “national” cinema heading into maturity. Unfortunately the film did not garner the acclaim that it deserves, when everything came to an abrupt halt with the Cultural Revolution sweeping the country into mass euphoria in a just a year’s time. The film was attacked because it “advocated the reconciliation of social classes”.
One would wonder how far would have Chinese cinema gone if not for this decade long hiatus.