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Reading Journal in Asian Cinema History Before 1945: " Film Analysis of 'Laborer's Love' and 'Never Weaken'"


Film Analysis of "Laborer's Love" and "Never Weaken"
(November 10, 2016)

In a written work by Yingjin Zhang on Chinese Cinema and Traditions, he divided the early film history in three phases, categorised by the value of which cinema was generally accepted: the first phase from 1896–1921 coined as “cinema as attractions”, the second phase from 1922–1926 coined as “cinema as narration”, and the last phase from 1927–1929 coined as “cinema and speculations” (13-14). The first phase was the introduction of new technology in recording moving pictures and films were shown along with traditional theater, mostly in tea houses, thus attributing to its “attraction” value as they showed brief spectacles. The third phase was when technology and skill in film making had progressed that multiple films were being made, but often than not, quality suffered and competition between rival companies led to the film industry’s eventual downfall. Going back to the second phase, this was a time when film was treated more than just art, with companies set up, and film critics, magazines, and schools were founded in order to refine the industry. It is also very important to note that one of the two films to be discussed in this reading journal happened to be produced in this time.

Laborer’s Love (1922) by Zhang Sichuan came out just one year after Harold Lloyd’s Never Weaken (1921), and upon watching the two films, it is easy to discern the similarities in the narrative. For a brief summary, both films portray protagonists hoping to improve the business (physician’s clinic) of where their love interest works. Both protagonists indulge in intentional accidents, whereby the victims would then be led to the said clinic in order to receive treatment. It is here where their similarities end, as the latter half of Lloyd’s film revolve around the protagonist’s attempt to commit suicide as he believes he was cheated, yet there was also his desperation to survive after being placed in harm’s way. In Laborer’s Love, the film would end after the doctor (father of the love interest) approves of the protagonist who helped his business flourish. Here, there is a striking cultural concept of qualifications for the groom, while the other film did not need the protagonist to seek for any consent. This, perhaps, can be one argument that Sichuan’s film was not a remake or copy of Lloyd’s. In terms of performance, Sichuan’s actors proved to be more exaggerated as well as involvement of martial arts (even if only briefly), which is perhaps a reference to traditional opera and theater performances, as opposed to Lloyd’s comedic movements that are still within the boundary of normalcy. Though what is truly amazing to notice is the difference of clarity and filming technology between the two films, with Lloyd’s film (though a year earlier) was clearer. Already, it possessed Hollywood film techniques, particularly in special effects and continuity. For Sichuan’s film, continuity is broken as most of the locational transition is portrayed by the actors’ (or object’s) movement towards the front or farther from the camera. This can be a reference to how theater plays often portray “travelling” by simply moving from the foreground to the background of the stage, and vice-versa.

Essentially, I believe the two films were produced independently from the other, no matter how coincidental the narratives are, precisely because the technology of film cinema would still be at an infantile stage in China by that time to truly have a large archive of foreign films to study and emulate from. Also, what the two films depicted were societal phenomenons with culture embedded into the narrative: such as merit-conscious society, religion, industrialisation and commerce. It so happened that they added an extra narrative in the form of portraying two lovers to explore those themes. Curiously, as I was researching on Never Weaken, IMDB’s database lists Fred C. Newmayer as the director, not Harold Lloyd. To what extent is this true, I am not certain.
Words: 656

Reference
1. Laborer's Love. Directed by Shichuan Zhang. Performed by Zhegu Zheng, Zhengqiu Zheng, Ying Yu. China: Mingxing Film Company, 1922.
2. Never Weaken. Directed by Fred C. Newmayer. By Hal Roach. Performed by Harold Lloyd, Mildred Davis, Roy Brooks. USA: Rolin Films, 1921. Film.
3. Zhang, Yingjin, “Cinema and National Traditions 1896-1926”, p13-57

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