Daybreak

Daybreak (1933)

天明

A country girl and her boyfriend arrive in Shanghai for a better life. They soon find only desperation. She is raped and falls into prostitution as he drifts into revolutionary circles. Her access through her trade grants her greater access which she uses to aid her revolutionary lover with tragic results.

Date of release
1933-01-01
TMDB
6.6 / 10 (8)
Runtime
1h 56m
Genres
Drama
Director
Sun Yu

Casting

Interesting facts

Daybreak is a 1933 Chinese silent film, directed by Sun Yu. It was released by the Lianhua Film Company, premiered in Shanghai's Peking Theater on February 2, 1933. The film follows Lingling, a young country girl from a rural fishing village, as she moves to Shanghai with her cousin, Zhang. As Zhang drifts into revolutionary circles, Lingling falls into an unfortunate path. Sold to a corrupt boss who intoxicates and rapes her by her own sister, Lingling is forced into prostitution before eventually becoming a martyr for the oncoming revolution.

Trivia

Some speculated that the ending scene where Lingling walked towards the executioners, was inspired by Marie (portrayed by Marlene Dietrich) in Dishonored (1931).

Some identified Li Lili as one of the major actresses associated with the Lianhua Film Company. She notes that Li entered Lianhua through its dance troupe, appeared in thirteen films for the company, and that her breakthrough as an actress came with Daybreak. Through Daybreak. Li Lili made the impression to some as the "Queen of masquerade" by her showcasing her transformation in character via costume, make-up and hairstyle.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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