ARGUMENTO: Madame Tung is a middle-aged teacher and doctor in a remote village in 17th century China. Tung is a respected member of the community, a widower whose loyalty to her late husband and dedication to the family name have not gone unnoticed: villagers request that the emperor have an arch erected as a symbol of the schoolteacher's virtue and service. Tung agrees to billet a group of soldiers in her home and falls in love with the young captain, Yang Kwan, who is also smitten and leaves romantic poetry around Tung's home for the widower to find. When Tung's daughter falls for Yang Kwan her mother encourages the couple to be married. Tung, however, is still attracted to the captain and afraid of scandal if she acts on her desires.Cecile Tang was one of the very few woman directors working in Hong Kong cinema in the 1970s. This stylized period melodrama was shot in part by Subrata Mitra, Satyajit Ray’s longtime cinematographer, and co-edited by the redoubtable Les Blank.Set in 17th century (Ming Dynasty) south China, The Arch tells of a young widow who suppresses her sexuality out of a sense of propriety and loyalty to her townspeople, who have erected an arch to honor her virtue. It is a film in which style incorporates theme, a complex interaction of passion and tradition. Filmed in Taiwan, The Arch was the first film of the California-trained woman filmmaker Shu Shuen; Les Blank co-edited the film, which was shot by the renowned Indian cinematographer Subrata Mitra. Essentially the first Chinese film to receive international acclaim, The Arch was accepted by many Western critics as a model of subtlety, soothing in its purity; Henry Miller called it "medicine for the West." But the filmmaker herself notes, "Whatever the interpretation may be, the story is about a woman tormented and the effect of her inner conflicts upon the other characters.... I see in Madam Tung the helplessness of all of us...the ludicrousness of mankind, the futility of intelligence.... So what is there to offer as a comfort but tolerance...and compassion for each other's pain?"
