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OPEN CLASSIC CINEMA · 612

Little Toys

1933103 minChina
DramaWar

Synopsis

A skilled toymaker struggles to support her family as imported goods erode the market for handmade toys. Personal loss drives her toward Shanghai, where war threatens an already fragile livelihood. The small objects she creates become inseparable from larger questions about work, community and the survival of her country.

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Video edition
Wikimedia Commons
Original language
No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: Chinese.
This copy runs
102:26
Subtitles
No subtitle track in this language

No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: Chinese. No subtitle track in this language.

Languages and subtitles

No subtitle track in this language

Wikimedia Commons · Sun Yu · Public domain

Cast

DirectorsSun Yu

Historical context

Made after the fighting in Shanghai in 1932, the film joins economic nationalism to an account of civilian suffering. The mother-and-daughter pairing of Ruan Lingyu and Li Lili gives its public concerns an intimate emotional scale.

Sources and availability

General references identify the work and its copy. A reference beside an editorial section is linked to the claims checked in that section.

Virtual Shanghai · CNRSWikipediaChinese Film ClassicsChina · Copyright Law, Article 23US Copyright Office · foreign works

Work catalogued as public domain in the United States.

The public-domain references concern the original films in the United States. Rights can differ for other countries, editions, restorations, music or translations. Sources are listed on each film page.

Availability checked on September 11, 2026.

Photograph credit

Photographs cropped, resized and optimized as WebP, displayed in monochrome.

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