Two Feminist Films of Early Cinema

Ruan Lingyu gives a sensitive and exquisite performance in this tragic tale of a mother's iron will to give her son a better life. Street walker by night, devoted mother by day, a woman fights to get her young son an education amid criminal and social injustice in China. Also shown will be Germaine Dulac's feminist film“La Souriante Madame Beudet” which tells the tale of an unhappily married woman who devises a scheme to get rid of her boorish husband. Silent film with live accompaniment by Marta Waterman.