Seventy years later, this same ballad reappears in Ang Lee’s “Lust, Caution,” as teary-eyed Tang Wei sings to Tony Leung Chiu in occupied Shanghai. In both films, it’s a love song, and in both films, it has patriotic passion. Our country may be broken apart, the song seems to say, but it’s only temporary—it still shares one heart.

And it was the patriotism—as well as the audience’s sympathy with the familiar working class battles—that turned this film into such a hit. Some have likened the movie to a cocktail of Frank Capra and Sergei Eisenstein, but for us, it remains a classic of old Shanghai. It’s a gorgeous view into the Paris of the East, on the precipice of great change.

Zěnme yàng, fáng qián shōu le méiyǒu?
怎么样，房钱收了没有？
Landlord: Did you get their rent?

Nuo, shōu le yīkuài yángqián.
喏，收了一块洋钱。
Landlady: Yeah, he gave me one dollar.

Yángqián? Shǎguā! Bǎ yángqián ná lái gànshénme?
洋钱？傻瓜！把洋钱拿来干什么？
Landlord: What did take his dollar for? Idiot!

Yángqián xiànzài bù hǎo yòng le!
洋钱现在不好用了！
Don’t you know that foreign dollars aren’t any good anymore?

For more glimpses of Shanghai through the ages, don’t miss some of the other great films shot here:

“Everlasting Regret” (《长恨歌》 Ch1ng H-n G8), directed by Stanley Kwan, is filled with sumptuous soft-focus art-deco interiors, and tells the story of a changing city and a love affair that keeps failing to happen, between the ’30s and the ’80s.

“Lust, Caution” (《色戒》 S- Ji-) stretches Zhang Ailing’s extremely short story into a gorgeous two and a half hours, and Ang Lee successfully captures the beauty and life of Shanghai, even in a dark and painful period.

“Leaving Me, Loving You” (《大城小事》 D3ch9ng Xi2osh#)） won’t be the most accessible film for foreigners, but this romantic comedy is a travel guide to Shanghai’s hotspots. From the Bund to Waibaidu Bridge, every tourist destination plays a role. It’s not Woody Allen’s “Manhattan,” but is still an ode to a complex, storied city.

Key words
难民nànmín：refugee
喜剧xǐjù：comedy
乐观lèguān：optimistic
格格不入的人gégébùrù de rén：misfits

Sentece
1. Nǐ xǐhuān xǐjùpiàn háishì kǒngbùpiàn?
    你喜欢喜剧片还是恐怖片？
    Do you prefer comedy or horror films?

2. Qíshí, wǒ xǐhuān nàojù.
    其实，我喜欢闹剧。
    Oh, actually I’m a fan of slapstick comedy.

声明：沪江网高度重视知识产权保护，发现本网站发布的信息包含有侵犯其著作权的链接内容时，请联系我们，我们将做相应处理。