THE GODDESS
a hymn to mother love
The silent film concerts of the Prima Vista Quartet
The masterpiece of Chinese silent film
the film
DIRECTOR Wu Yonggang
YEAR 1934
DURATION 1h20
COMPOSER Baudime Jam (2010)
« The Goddess [is] sublimated and magnified by the composition of Baudime Jam which took advantage of simplicity and slowness of the film by creating a dark and deep atmosphere, from which the lyricism is not absent. The musical accompaniment of a film requires great rigor : the Prima Vista Quartet excels in this very specific genre. »
Dominique Amatulli
(La Montagne)
photos : B. Schafter, C. Rebet
« A moment of grace... For the first time, this cine-concert, far from being a mere attraction, was a revelation. I want to thank Baudime Jam, composer and performer of the musical accompaniment of The Goddess, for offering us such pleasure. Image and score merged, emotion and music were symbiotic, in perfect harmony, deeply relevant and delicate »
Catherine Abecassis
(Gan Foundation for Cinema)
« Baudime Jam is an expert and passionate musician. His wonderful music for The Goddess is faithful to the original work which he has restored the alliance of lyricism and realism. Perfect integration of music in film. »
Yang Jianhua
(Confucius Institute of Poznan)
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The heroine is a young woman who becomes a prostitute in order to raise her child. After falling into the hands of a man who exploits her, she tries in vain to escape. The child grows up and enters school. But having learned his "origin", the other parents are pushing for him to leave. Despite the sympathy of the school director for the young woman, the school’s board agrees with the parents. She decides to take her child to another city where he will continue his studies. But only when she realizes that the pimp has stolen her savings and lost them by gambling...
This is the first film by Wu Yonggang, and his most famous. It is also one of the great roles of Ruan Lingyu, in which she proves utterly expressive and touching. Her mere presence is overwhelming, and the sober and slow cinematography enhances the elegant beauty of this silent star who was the idol of young intellectuals before committing suicide at the age of twenty-five years, thus entering the legend.
New horizon for the Prima Vista Quartet and resident composer, Baudime Jam : China in the 1930s and a social-realist aesthetic. Less thematic, more minimalist, less focused on developments, more concerned with creating atmospheres, the new score composed by Baudime Jam (commissioned by the Festival of Anères) remains faithful to the creed of its author : respect for the aesthetic intentions of the director and close relationship with the image.
The score of «The Goddess» has been premiered at the Festival of Anères on May 23, 2010 with the support of the SACEM, and at The Chinese Film Festival of Paris on October 8, 2011.
> The film is presented in the version restaured by the Bologna’s Film Library.
