''A Dream in Pink'' (), also known as ''Pink Dream'', is a 1932 Chinese

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

and an early film by director

Cai Chusheng Cai Chusheng (January 12, 1906 – July 15, 1968) was a Chinese film director of the pre-Communist era, and was the first Chinese director to win an international film award at the Moscow International Film Festival. Best known for his progres ...

. A melodrama, the film's pointed critique of the decadent urban lifestyle was nevertheless met with criticism by Shanghai's progressives, who regarded the film itself as decadent and excessively influenced by American cinema, particularly the film's numerous scenes of Shanghai's dance halls. Today the film is generally regarded as Cai's last film before his turn towards more overtly leftist films. It is sometimes translated as ''A Dream in Pink''. An extant print of the film is maintained by the China Film Archives. An English translation of the film, from the Chinese Film Classics Project, is available on YouTube.

Plot

''A Dream in Pink'' tells the story of a young novelist who is supported by a loving and hard-working wife. The novelist, however, is drawn to the decadent life of a socialite who introduces him to the dance halls that dot Shanghai. As the film progresses, the novelist soon learns of the emptiness of this urban existence and rejects it as a "pink dream." He takes up with a socialite, who ends up draining his finances and being a bad step-mother to his daughter. The cast-off wife, who moves to the countryside, hears of his financial distress and pens a gut-wrenching novel, which she submits to a publisher under his name. When the novelist, after receiving a windfall, learns of the truth, he seeks out and is reconciled with his wife, and their daughter sings a song to celebrate the reunion.

Notes

References

* Zhang, Zhen. '' An Amorous History of the Silver Screen: Shanghai Cinema, 1896–1937''. University of Chicago Press (2005). .

External links

''A Dream in Pink'' (1932)
with English subtitles, and plot synopsis, at the Chinese Film Classics Project, University of British Columbia. *
''Pink Dream''
at the Chinese Movie Database 1932 films 1932 drama films Films directed by Cai Chusheng Films set in Shanghai Lianhua Film Company films Chinese black-and-white films 1930s melodrama films Silent Chinese drama films {{China-film-stub