2:00 pm | $6 | Live Piano Accompaniment by Marta Waterman,
The Goddess |1934 | Drama/Silent film | 1h 25m
La Souriante Madame Beudet | The Smiling Madame Beudet | 1922 | Drama/Black and white | 54 mins
In Shanghai, a young woman (Lingyu Ruan) can support her baby boy only by turning to prostitution (the film’s title is also an euphemism for prostitute). In avoiding the police, the young woman comes under the inadvertent protection of a criminal boss who assaults her, then coerces her to work for him. Brutally forced to continue street walking, the woman nevertheless begins saving money secretly in order to send her son to a good school. When the boy is of age, his mother realizes her dream, until a teacher begins an investigation into her past. Ling-yu delivered one of the greatest performances in silent cinema, and yet to Western audiences, she is almost completely unknown. Her performance is sensitive and realistic: While silent film acting tended towards the histrionic, Ruan’s performance is naturalistic while still having an emotional rawness that few actors could match.
We will also show “La Souriante Madame Beudet” by the renowned surrealist director, Germaine Dulac . It is considered by many to be one of the first truly “feminist” films and tells the story of an intelligient woman, trapped in a loveless marriage, and what she may be capable of doing to escape.
Founded in August of 2010, The Rosendale Theatre Collective, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization is dedicated to preserving the historic Rosendale Theatre and enhancing the cultural life and economic vitality of Rosendale and Ulster County through film, the performing arts and educational programming.
“Sunday Silents” is made possible by the generous support of:
UlsterCountyAlive.com
Jim DeMaio State Farm Insurance Agent, New Paltz
Just-A-Buck of New Paltz.
“More than any other film, “The Goddess” captures the misery and hopelessness of China at the time. Ruan is the symbol of China’s suffering.” Richard Meyer
“Ruan has a wounded beauty that simply rivets you to the screen.” Jonathan Crow
Originally produced in 1923, “Madame Beudet” instantly established Dulac as a force in world cinema and is generally regarded as her masterwork. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
The Goddess
La Souriante Madame Beudet