Fei Mu 費穆 (1906-1951), also known as Fey Mou, was a theater director and film director best known for his acclaimed film Spring in a Small Town (1948). Fei directed a variety of films, including social dramas and anti-Japanese resistance allegories, for United Photoplay Services (Lianhua Studio) in the 1930s. Significant extant works include the dubbed musical Song of China (1935), the wartime biopic Confucius (1940, partially recovered and restored), and China’s first color film, starring opera star Mei Lanfang, A Wedding in the Dream (1948).
Related Posts
Chinese Film Classics, 1922-1929 (2021), by Christopher Rea
An essential guide to the first golden age of Chinese cinema, offering detailed introductions to fourteen films.
2017/09/30-10/21: A Golden Age of Chinese Cinema, 1947-52, at BAMPFA
BAMPFA film series featuring seven films released in China between 1947 and 1952
Spring in a Small Town 小城之春 (1948)
Director Fei Mu’s lyrical masterpiece shows people coping with loss and longing in the aftermath of the Anti-Japanese War.
Song of China 天倫 (1935)
Fei Mu's traditionalist parable dramatizes the triumph of filial piety. Set to a lavish orchestral score and produced for a bilingual market.
