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Movie Info & Details
Release Year1933
Runtime1h 32m
LanguageMandarin
CertificationNR
GenresDrama
Votes1
DirectorBu Wan-Cang
WritersBu Wan-Cang
TypeFeature Film
Rating8.0 out of 10
Cast3 credited
Also Known AsThe Light of Maternal Instinct
About The Light of Maternal Instinct
Although Hui-Ying is now married to a husband that offers a life of stability and comfort, over ten years ago her first husband (Jia-Hu) fled from Shanghai to Nanyang (old name for Southeast Asia) to escape capture by a warlord - leaving her and their toddler daughter (Shao-Mei) behind in helpless desperation. Despite the mother's emotional attachment to her absent husband, she has never told the daughter about Jia-Hu so the daughter believes the stepfather is her biological father. But the mother begins to have second thoughts about the stepfather when she sees the teen daughter zealously follow the path paved by him - a path that the mother fears will lead to her daughter's moral decline.
Directed by Bu Wan-Cang, The Light of Maternal Instinct leans on a strong ensemble — Chen Yanyan, Jin Yan, Lai Cheuk-Cheuk — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.
The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about drama titles of 1933.
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