Rating of
2.5/4
Broken Blossoms (1919) review
Daniel Corleone - wrote on 11/28/11
A story of the passionate Cheng (Richard Barthelmess) and the unfortunate situation of Lucy(Lillian Gish). Lucy is physically abused by her ill-tempered Battling (Donald Crisp). Gish excellently portrayed her depressing abused character. The drama is well represented and the score fit the mood. Only qualms I had was how Cheng discovered where Lucy lived and how a peaceful business minded Chinese who despises violence. Simplicity displayed yet effective with a surprising ending. Topics involved subtle racism, compassion and bad parenting. It even had a boxing scene suited for its time Despite some flaws, Broken Blossoms (1919) is a well written (poetic messages with numerous symbolism's) and directed film which touches on sensitive topics which could have been one of the influences of how dramatic films should be.
