Broken Blossoms (1919)

Broken Blossoms (1919)

This silent, black and white film portrays the journey of an Asian man (played by a Caucasian actor) to spread Buddhism. Along the way, he encounters Lucy, a young girl, who is consistently abused emotionally and physically by her father. Despite his assistance, he is unable to safeguard her from the victimization, which tragically results in her untimely death. In the final scene, he builds a shrine next to the girl’s lifeless body, before he pays respect to the Buddha statue.   My reactions towards the movie’s several scenes bordered between admiration and dislike. On the one hand, I was quite impressed by the professional, artistic cinematography and the various compositions, which undoubtedly render Broken Blossoms a masterpiece; while on the other, I couldn’t help but felt a sense of anger towards the character of Lucy’s father who regularly beats and scolds her. Hence, the overall impression was that this film lives up to the definitions of “melodrama” which typically displays an exaggeration in one’s emotional state or a facial expression. For instance, Lucy’s forced smile is plainly exaggerated through her use of two fingers to stretch her lips sideways to create the fake look. The smile alone contains several messages; and one is that it indicates how unfairly she must conceal her pains and miseries from the world, even up until her moment of demise. Another interpretation is that the smile conveys the father’s malicious intention, as he views her grin as a sign of submission to his erratic behavior, which allows him to continue abusing her. Thus the combination between appreciating the movie as a melodramatic art form, and as an account of the girl’s struggles against domestic violence explain my mixed impression for the film.    

Another crucial point is that the role of the “Yellow Man” is played by a white actor who, despite wearing traditional Chinese attire, still looks quite Western. Personally, the oriental element is represented mostly through the references to Buddhism, such as the words, the temple, and the statue itself. However, aside from the religious realm, the plot and storylines still quite resonate with typical Western ideals, which also include the heroism of an individual, as opposed to that of a collective group.

The final remark is the incorporation of music, which, given that this is a black/ white film, eminently enhances the appreciation of Broken Blossoms in its most melodramatic lights.