Echoes of Time: Mu Fei's 'Spring in a Small Town'

Chinese filmmaker Mu Fei completed the film 'Spring in a Small Town' in 1948, marking a turning point in history. Although spring arrived with a chilly mood, situated amongst films like 'Spring River Flows East,' 'Eight Thousand Li of Cloud and Moon,' 'The Lights of Ten Thousand Homes,' 'Crows and Sparrows,' which resonated with the national sentiments and catered to public opinion, upon its release, a few admirers praised its 'beautiful style' and 'heart-wrenching human affairs.' However, the majority of reviews felt it 'lacked the depth of thought' and was 'hollow and boring,' deeming it untimely and relegating it to a corner, hidden for over 30 years.

In the early 1980s, propelled by the Hong Kong Film Critics Association, the late renowned cultural scholar Huang Ailing, and other institutions and individuals, the surface dust of 'Spring in a Small Town' was gently wiped away, first in Hong Kong, recognizing the film's transcendence of its era. Subsequently, the film's decadent scenes, gray tone, repressed emotions, and avant-garde language resonated profoundly in the Chinese-language film industry across the straits and even in the global film industry.

The creation of this once-in-a-lifetime classic was serendipitous. In early 1948, due to the delay and substantial expenses in the production of the film 'The Good Couple,' planned by the Shanghai Wenhua Film Company, there was a need for a low-budget film to be quickly produced and released to ease financial pressures. The script for 'The Bitterness of a Family,' written by Li Tianji under the encouragement and suggestion of Cao Yu, due to its limited characters and fewer settings, was chosen. Other directors at the Wenhua Company, including Huang Zuolin and Sang Hu, showed no interest in the script, but Mu Fei readily accepted the opportunity." From pre-production to completion, 'Spring in a Small Town' took only four months, yet it did not compromise Mu Fei's consistent artistic quality."

The Gaze

The external shots for 'Spring in a Small Town' were filmed in Songjiang, a fertile area in the southwest of Shanghai. The ancient city walls and old-style houses, ravaged by years of war, lay in ruins overgrown with wild grass, perfectly creating the enclosed and silent world Mu Fei envisioned. Within this setting, the wounded young woman, Yuwen, walked hesitantly, living a routine life of buying groceries and medicine, strolling along the city walls, exchanging a few words with her husband, and quietly embroidering, letting the days come and go, while resisting the inner turmoil against the silent surroundings.

At the start of the film, before Yuwen's off-screen voiceover begins, the camera rotates, scanning the scenery of the small town. A small figure appears on the city wall, which turns out to be Yuwen. Following her gaze, the audience sees three people's silhouettes, and she watches as Dai Xiu and Lao Huang escort Zhang Zhichen away. The narrative unfolds through Yuwen's inner monologue, as the storyteller, recounting the 'small-town story' from her own personal experience.

Yuwen's monologue uses an alternating omniscient perspective, sometimes subjective, sometimes observational, blending past recollections, present descriptions, and vague future predictions. 'When he entered the city, I never thought he would come; how did he know I was married here?', 'He, they stood waiting for me', 'Who knew someone would come', allowing the audience to glimpse the complexity and fluctuations of her emotions. The shifting references within the first-person narrative unequivocally reveal Yuwen's transformation from a dutiful wife to the rekindling of an old flame with her former lover. The sudden shift to the second-person narrative, 'Why did you come, why did you have to come, how am I supposed to face you?' marks the watershed between a desolate heart and surging emotions.

Although the narrative of the major flashback structure originates from Yuwen's perspective, the horizontal heights of many scenes reflect Liyan's viewpoint. Scenes with or without him present are shot from a perspective either at eye level or slightly upward, undoubtedly reflecting Liyan's usual positions, either sitting on the bed or lying on a chair.

Liyan's somewhat self-deprecating gaze, coupled with Yuwen's voice, creates a narrative contradiction, which in some ways restricts her actions, implying her unresolved feelings for Zhichen, exist merely as a prelude. The emotional balance among the three characters, after turbulent times, will eventually find a new equilibrium guided by ethics.

The Spiritual Dedication within the Context of the Times

'A helpless feeling on these dilapidated and empty city walls,' 'like being drunk, like in a dream, at this moment, the moon rises high, slightly breezy.' The off-screen narration of Yuwen in 'Spring in a Small Town' often expresses her emotions through the scenery. The depiction of natural landscapes is a borrowed reference from the freehand style of Chinese painting. The opening shot showcasing the city walls, pathways, flowing water, and spring branches signifies the loneliness of spring and the distress of the people. The pot of orchids that Yuwen gives to Zhichen symbolizes probing and observation.

The water sleeves and cloud-stepping techniques of Peking Opera roles were also used by Mu Fei to depict the footwork changes of Yuwen when she goes to meet Zhichen, from hesitant steps to slow shuffles, and then to brisk walking, reflecting her changing attire and accessories, pinpointing the transformation in her state of mind. Xie Tieli's 1963 film 'Early Spring in February also uses natural surroundings to reflect the moods of the main characters, focusing on their hurried or leisurely steps. However, the effect is far less spiritually resonant than Mu Fei's few strokes.

Apart from drawing nourishment from classical poetry, traditional Chinese painting, and Peking opera, Mu Fei also found inspiration from his years working in new Western-inspired dramas and theatrical arts. From a cinematic perspective, Yuwen's monologue is like the camera pointing to the character's inner self, externalizing her inner emotions on the screen, seemingly engaging in a 'stare-down' with the audience, disclosing the secrets of her soul directly, which is the unique charm of theater. Ingmar Bergman's 1953 film 'Summer with Monika' depicts Monika slowly turning her gaze towards the camera and locking eyes with the audience for over 10 seconds, which film enthusiasts lauded as a first in film history. However, a similar effect had already been achieved in 'Spring in a Small Town,' and Mu Fei did it with sound.

As the film reaches its climax, witnessing her ailing husband in a sickly state committing suicide, Yuwen, who previously told her well-dressed lover 'unless he dies,' turns to the lover and says, 'You have to save him, thank you' (initially pointing to Liyan with 'he,' then referring back to Dai Liyan), seeking help, reflecting the turmoil in Yuwen's mentality, and revealing Mu Fei's attitude towards Chinese culture that was under the influence of new Western ideologies. Yuwen doesn't choose to leave but waits for Liyan to unsteadily climb up to the city wall. They both watch Zhichen leave, embodying the stance of Mu Fei and other Chinese intellectuals of the time, in a historical crossroads, unable to sever their ties to their homeland.

Perhaps due to the fusion of Mu Fei's spiritual confusion and aspirations with the era's context, Tian Zhuangzhuang's tribute remake of 'Spring in a Small Town' in 2002 became a challenging work. Tian's version omitted the off-screen narration of Yuwen that permeated the entire film, turned the scenes into color, and expanded the space. In addition to the original five characters, there were many young, vibrant individuals in the small town, much like Dai Xiu, who could connect with the outside world through the extending railway and leave at any moment. The richness and multiple meanings of Mu Fei's cinematic language were nearly lost.