Two Stage Sisters

114 minutes | 1964 | Fiction | Mandarin and Wu Dialect | English Subtitles
4K Restoration

Content Advisory: This film contains scenes of tobacco use and violence.

In the 1940s, peasant girl Chunhua runs away from a forced marriage and finds sanctuary within a yue opera troupe, where she meets Yuehong, and they become sworn sisters, performing together. Their journey navigating through political and social upheavals parallels the nation’s transformation. The 4K restoration of this film premiered at the 17th Shanghai International Film Festival, fifty years after it was made.

XIE Jin (1923-2008) was a third-generation Chinese director whose film career spanned over half a century. He was renowned for his portrayal of female characters, and he directed more than thirty feature films throughout his life. Encompassing various genres and themes, some of his most famous works include Women Basketball Player No. 5 (1957), Red Detachment of Women (1961), Two Stage Sisters (1964), Legend of Tianyun Mountain (1980), The Herdsman (1982), Wreaths at the Foot of the Mountain (1984), Hibiscus Town (1987) and The Opium War (1997).