Wang Lingu

History of filmmaking in China from its beginnings in the 1920s to 1982, featuring Shanghai cinema of 1930s; the progressive filmmakers; the organisation of filmmaking under the post-war communist government; the impact of the Cultural Revolution; the work of Xie Jin.

In pre-revolutionary China, two young girls, Chunhua and Yuehong Xing, rise through the ranks of Chinese opera, but with their artistic success comes a new series of personal and social challenges. After they're sold to a Shanghai opera and the revolution dawns, Yuehong radicalizes and devotes her career to politically progressive performances, while Chunhua flees to avoid turmoil. As the world changes around them, they fight to maintain their friendship.