Sun Yu

Sun Yu (孙瑜, March 21, 1900 – July 11, 1990) was a major leftist film director active in the 1930s in Shanghai. One of the core directors of the Lianhua Film Company, Sun Yu made a name for himself with a series of socially conscious dramas in the early to mid-1930s. After the Japanese invasion of China in 1937, Sun Yu made his way to the interior, where he continued to make films glorifying the war effort against the Japanese.

His career took a turn for the worse after the Communist victory in 1949. In The Life of Wu Xun, Sun Yu’s big-budget biographical picture of the titular Qing Dynasty educator, Sun attracted the wrath of Mao Zedong, who personally criticized the film in an essay. Though Sun never fully recovered from the episode, he has regained his reputation as one of the foremost filmmakers of the golden age of Chinese cinema. [wikipedia]

Sun Yu Filmography

 

Poster for the movie "The Life of Wu Xun"

The Life of Wu Xun

The life-story of Wu Xun, a beggar in the Qing dynasty who set up free schools for poor children.

Poster for the movie "The Big Road"

The Big Road

Six young men from the city take jobs building roads for the Chinese Army

Little Toys

Sister Ye lives in a rural village, where everyone makes traditional toys. When Sister Ye’s husband dies of an unknown illness, and while Ye is attending to him, her son is kidnapped and sold to a wealthy lady in the city of Shanghai. Shortly after, the village is destroyed during an attack between rival warlords, forcing the villagers move to the city, where they continue to make toys. Ten years pass, and Ye’s daughter Zhu’er … Read more

Poster for the movie "Lian hua jiao xiang qu"

Lian hua jiao xiang qu

“Lianhua Symphony” – a small collection, consisting of eight short films shot in 1937 by young filmmakers Shanghai Lianhua Film Company.

Chun dao ren jian

Yu is a village boat-rower who loves smiling. On the contrary, serf girl xiao Hong never smiles because of her miserable life. Yu volunteers to teach her smile.

Poster for the movie "Queen Of Sports"

Queen Of Sports

Young sprinter Lin Ying enrolls in a sports college in Shanghai. As she becomes a sports celebrity, she starts to mangle with the upper class and has gradually forgotten the true essence of sports.