Subtitles embedded in the picture
These subtitles are part of the video and cannot be turned off. YouTube controls playback availability, which may vary by region.
Audience rating
Loading ratings…
Synopsis
A mother in Shanghai works at night to pay for her young son’s future. A violent man takes control of her earnings, while prejudice threatens the boy’s place at school. She fights to preserve the ordinary life she wants for him in a city that judges her occupation more readily than it recognizes her care.
Cast
DirectorsWu Yonggang
Historical context
Wu Yonggang’s directorial debut makes the mother’s point of view central to its critique of social hypocrisy. Ruan Lingyu’s restrained gestures and the contrast between street and home give the silent drama much of its force.
Sources and availability
The synopsis and editorial text were written for this collection. The references below were cross-checked to identify the film and its copy; each editorial section identifies its reference.
Work catalogued as public domain in the United States.
The reference concerns the original work. Restorations, colorization, translations and other territories may have different conditions. This site uses the player enabled by the channel.
Availability checked on September 11, 2026.
Photograph credit
Photographs cropped, resized and optimized as WebP, displayed in monochrome.
- Ruan Lingyu — Chen Jiazhen (陈嘉震), 1935, 中国电影女明星照相集; Wikimedia Commons. · Public domain — PD-China and PD-1996
