THE ARCH © T'ang Shushuen
The Arch, by T’ang Shushuen: (re)discovering one of Hong Kong’s first arthouse films
Considered Hong Kong’s first female film director, T’ang Shushuen directed The Arch in 1968. This adaptation of a popular Chinese folktale draws the portrait of a 17th century Chinese woman, torn between passion and virtue. Presented as a world premiere at the Festival de Cannes in 1969, the film is granted a new screening this year in a yet unseen restored version as part of the Cannes Classics selection and in the presence of the filmmaker herself.
Writer of just four films (China Behind, Sup Sap Bup Dup and The Hong Kong Tycoon), T’ang Shushuen is nevertheless a huge figure in Hong Kong cinema. Today a respected restorer in Los Angeles, she was a true pioneer of arthouse cinema, particularly due to her avant-garde style. Many critics see the influence of her work—which itself also draws inspiration from European cinema—in other Hong Kong filmmakers of the 1970s and 1980s.
The plot of The Arch takes place in 17th century China. The young widow, Madam Tung, lives a chaste life with her mother-in-law and her daughter, Wei Ling. She is admired by all for her rectitude and virtue, to the point where the village decides to honor her with the construction of an arch in her name. When the captain of a troupe of soldiers asks to stay with Madam Tung, these two characters find themselves drawn to each other. The widow’s dignity prevents her from giving in to this passion, but her daughter uses her charms to seduce the cavalry captain. Reluctantly, Madam Tung resigns herself to giving him her daughter’s hand in marriage.
Through this proverbial fable, The Arch expresses the subjugation of women to traditional norms, as well as the suppression of their desires for the benefit of alienating conformism.
The film has been restored in 4K by M+ in Hong Kong, based on an original 35 mm copy preserved in the University of California at the Berkeley Art Museum and the Pacific Film Archive, and an original 35 mm copy preserved at the BFI National Archive. The configuration, restoration and grading were performed at Silver Salt Restoration, in the presence of T’ang Shushuen.
