Rent The Bitter Tea of General Yen (1933)

3.6 of 5 from 80 ratings
1h 27min
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Synopsis:
At the height of the Chinese civil Megan Davis Megan Davis, an American missionary, travelled to Shanghai to marry her childhood sweetheart. Separated during a raid, Megan is taken prisoner by the local warlord, General Yen (Nils Asther), who, intrigued by her innocence and strength, spirits her away to his summer palace. Initially repulsed by her captor's barbaric behaviour, Megan soon realises that beneath Yen's ruthless demeanor lies the soul of a poet and philosopher. And as war rages around them, these two strangers find themselves hopelessly entangled in a dangerous web of desire, betrayal and unattainable love.
Actors:
, , , , , , , , , , , , , , Knute Erickson, , , , ,
Directors:
Writers:
Grace Zaring Stone, Edward E. Paramore Jr.
Studio:
Sony
Genres:
Classics, Drama
Collections:
All You Need to Know About Dump Month Movies, Films & TV by topic, Films to Watch if You Like It's a Wonderful Life, Films to Watch If You Like..., Memory Lane: Films Set in 1920s, A Brief History of Film..., The Instant Expert's Guide, The Instant Expert's Guide to Frank Capra
BBFC:
Release Date:
10/10/2005
Run Time:
87 minutes
Languages:
English Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono
Subtitles:
English, English Hard of Hearing, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish
DVD Regions:
Region 2
Formats:
Pal
Aspect Ratio:
Full Screen 1.33:1 / 4:3
Colour:
B & W

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Reviews (1) of The Bitter Tea of General Yen

Precode Exotica (spoilers). - The Bitter Tea of General Yen review by Steve

Spoiler Alert
10/03/2022

This atypical Capra film starts in the Chinese Civil War but soon becomes an exotic, unrequited love story between an American missionary, Megan Davis (Barbara Stanwyck), and a Chinese feudal warlord (Nils Asther). This is an unusually lavish and beautiful production, epic in the early scenes of conflict, and then opulent at the General's palace.

 Davis is an American missionary in Shanghai, saved from the chaos of the war by the powerful Yen. It's a vicarious adventure, as the horrified outsider becomes seduced by the brutal but sensual oriental. As she falls under his influence, she sees him less as an archetype and becomes absorbed by his eroticism.

 Megan fits a common pattern for Americans abroad in cinema: evangelist, naive, hubristic and out of her depth. In trying to save Yen's soul she destroys him utterly even while she falls in love with the man and his aristocratic luxury. He takes poison while she returns home merely chastened by her experience, a more sophisticated woman.  

This is a classic of the pre-code era. After 1934, even implying an affair between people of different races would be forbidden, as would the suicide. It's an imaginative and complex film. There is undeniably plenty of racial stereotyping, but actually by the fade it is Megan's intrusive Christianity which appears the more inexplicable, eccentric philosophy.

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