Love and Duty

Love and Duty is a 1931 silent film from China directed by Bu Wancang and starring Ruan Lingyu and Jin Yan.

Production history

Based on a novel by a Polish expatriate, S. Rosen-hoa ("Ho Ro-se"), who had married a Chinese engineer, Love and Duty became one of the first films produced by the leftist Lianhua Film Company. It proved popular for its day, in no small part due to the pairing of Ruan, who was already a darling of the Shanghai film industry, and Jin Yan, a Korean-born actor who was one of the major leading men in earlyChinese cinema.

[edit]Plot

The story tells the story of Yang Naifan (Ruan Lingyu) who runs from her arranged marriage to be with her true love, Li Zuyi (Jin Yan). The film details the poverty she must endure for breaking with tradition.

[edit]Rediscovery

For many years the film was believed lost, until a complete print was discovered in Uruguay in the 1990s.^[1] Since its rediscovery, it has made the rounds in film festivals and Chinese cinema retrospectives around the world.