(The following review of Midnight Song was first
published in the Shanghai newspaper “The Evening
News” (“Da wanbao”) on 22 February 1937, soon
after the film opened, and is reprinted in the collection
Selected Chinese Film Criticism of the '30s
(Sanshi niandai Zhongguo dianying pinglun
wenxuan) published in 1993 by China Film
Publishing Co., Beijing
When Midnight Song was released, Shanghai was
then more than ever living off its nerves: less than six
months later, in mid-August 1937, the Japanese
bombed the city and China's film industry started to
fragment. D.E.)
I'm happy to report both that the plot of Midnight
Song is an improvement [on Maxu Weibang's previous
films] and that the filmmaker has by no means
neglected reality. Not only has he avoided the fantastique,
"gods and spirits" style of filmmaking but has
also dealt a serious blow to the remnants of feudalistic
power. I for one would deem it a cause for celebration
if the fantastique genre in Chinese cinema
could develop in this kind of way, even though it's still
a bit far-fetched. I must admit to being extremely
sceptical as I entered the Jincheng [Golden City]
Cinema to watch the latest offering from this filmmaker.
I remembered the two productions he'd
unleashed on us in the past - Pear Blossom in the
Storm [1934] and A Goose Sets Down on the Wintry
River [1935] - which were so disappointing. But I
emerged from the cinema smiling grimly to myself:
with the country in the grip of such a serious crisis,
would a conscientious artist willfully set himself up as
a national traitor by playing a hoax on his audience?
That is not to say that makers of this kind of horror
film can afford to become complacent. We have such
high hopes of them that they still have a long way to
go.
But if this director decides to go on making horror
films, I can see no harm in it - as long as he doesn't
shirk his responsibilities. Horror films tend to flounder
mainly on their far-fetched plots. Not in this film,
though: here, horror has been used as the main form
of expression for everything, so the movie shouldn't
be tarred with the same brush. The basic message of
Midnight Song is that mankind must fight for justice
and the well-being of ordinary people. Whenever the
main character, Song Danping, is on-screen, he's
shown as so grotesque that he could easily come
across as some kind of monster. But the filmmaker
goes out of his way to show us he's made of flesh
and blood.
Also, the central relationship between Song
Danping and Li Xiaoxia is about more than just illicit
love. The filmmaker is clearly trying to alert his
audience to the conflict between emotion and reason.
When Song Danping sends Sun Xiao'ou to
comfort Li Xiaoxia, he expresses his attitude very
clearly: "Don't go tormenting and destroying yourself
over me. You have a responsibility to yourself and
you should fight for it!" (or words to that effect). The
same is true of the songs. Without transcribing all the
lyrics here, their implicit meaning is always upbeat.
These aspects of Midnight Song should not be
overlooked. The filmmaker has retained his "poetic"
style in the performances - for instance, in the ghostly
and serene way he depicts the bleak chill of midnight.
Particularly striking are some of the scenes in
front of the ancient, fortress-like building, where Li
Xiaoxia walks straight ahead enveloped in mist, with
the moon shining coldly in the sky.
There could be more real horror in the film, but the
production was clearly hampered by budgetary and
technical constraints. Most horror films rely on
creepy effects to shock viewers, and that's by no
means easy to accomplish in the impoverished
Chinese film industry. We shouldn't judge the director
too harshly: he has done a satisfactory job in the
circumstances. With more resources, the scene
where the troupe visits the theatre could have had
more tension and horror; but even if the lighting isn't
as dark and gloomy as it should have been, the use
of snakes, scorpions, rats and so on obliquely
reinforces the mood.
It also highlights the pains the director has gone to.
The actors are quite well-matched. Jin Shan, Shi
Chao, Wang Weiyi and others all put in good performances,
and Hu Ping's realisation of her character is
not far off the mark. The soundtrack leaves a lot to be
desired. In many places the dialogue is often obscured
by too much echo.
The cinematography is generally acceptable,
although not ideal for this kind of film. As mentioned
earlier, this is largely due to budgetary and technical
constraints.
Ye Di