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Broken Blossoms or The Yellow Man and the Girl
1919 89 min United States of America 6+
★7.5
Drama, Romance
Director: D.W. Griffith
Trailers
Description
The love story of an abused English girl and a Chinese Buddhist in a time when London was a brutal and harsh place to live.
Worldwide:
$2.4M
Starring
Lillian Gish
Actor
Richard Barthelmess
Actor
Donald Crisp
Actor
Awards
1 win
Key opinion
Broken Blossoms is widely regarded as a pivotal artistic achievement of the silent era, celebrated for its innovative use of cinematography and montage to convey profound emotional intimacy. While the performances of Lillian Gish are consistently praised for their evocative power, the film remains a subject of debate due to its simplistic narrative and the problematic casting of a white actor in an Asian lead role.
| Acting | Lillian Gish delivers a transformative performance that anchors the film’s emotional resonance through her expressive physical acting. | |
| Direction | The film utilizes ground-breaking montage and close-up techniques to externalize characters' internal states and elevate the visual storytelling. | |
| Acting | The casting of Richard Barthelmess as a Chinese character is criticized as an insensitive, stereotypical performance akin to blackface. | |
| Screenplay | The screenplay is viewed as a primitive, sparse narrative that often prioritizes atmospheric experimentation over cohesive plotting. | |
| Culture | Critics are divided on the film's racial representation, with some viewing it as a respectful, anti-bigotry stance and others seeing it as an exploitative byproduct of its time. |