Broken Blossoms Review- By Michael Carlisle

Title: Broken Blossoms
Director: D.W Griffith
Year: 1919
Country: US
Language: English

I'm still not sure whether it's ok to have a crush on a woman who has been dead long before I was born. I first saw D,W Griffith's Broken Blossoms on TCM very late at night (for some reason they always show silents late at night or early in the morning) shortly after seeing his highly controversial Birth of a Nation.  I wanted to understand his intentions, was he an old racist coot or did he have a higher love for mankind. This film assured me that Griffith had a tremendous heart and that he honestly disliked his country was still fueled by racism. It was also my third Lilian Gish film, I though she was cute but I saw her as an old lady in Night of the Hunter and pondered if I should change my mind.

The films stars Richard Barthelmess as Cheng Huan, a missionary who's goal is to spread the teachings of Buddha among the English. Upon arrival in England he quickly notices the intolerance of the English culture in the late 1910's . He becomes a shopkeeper, out of the window he notices the innocent Lucy Burrows (Lilain Gish) who is beaten regularly by her cruel father. Cheng falls in love with her, provides food for her and takes care of her until she feels better. They are happy together but unfortunately that happiness only lasts until her father finds out that she's with a foreigner.

Unlike the other D.W Griffith films I previously reviewed (Intolerance and Birth of a Nation) this is a film in which I can see modern film-goers wanting to watch again and again because it's not too long and not too overtly shocking. Like Birth of a Nation, Broken Blossoms was incredibly controversial for its time. It was one of the first films to discuss interracial marriage openly and without prejudice, Interracial marriage itself was a controversial topic in America and was largely frowned upon by the culture. Parents (usually white) would disown their kids if they came home with a black or Asian person, this was especially in the South when they still tried to separate blacks and white as much as they could. The controversy of interracial marriage is much like the controversy of gay marriage nowadays

Unfortunately the attitudes of race may seem dated to today's viewer, even the Chinese character of the film may seem like a stereotypical depiction of what Americans though the Chinese acted like, though oddly I find the Chinese character in Breakfast At Tiffany's, a film made half a century later, to be more racist. He is a peaceful Buddhist, opium addict, shopkeeper and acted by a caucasian man, but you have to realize that Griffith's film was considered "open-minded" for its time. Perhaps a fault of this film, and perhaps all of Griffith's films, is that they are not exactly "timeless". To watch it and fully find yourself enjoying it you have to put yourself in the mind of a person from 1919. Whereas in any of Charlie Chaplin's films you can enjoy it and not have to think about the time period.

In conclusion, this film is extremely dated but very necessary. Tame by today's standards but controversial back then. Griffith was a brave man with very good intentions which he wanted to extend to his audience. A unique historical document in Cinema that may not always have the hearts of the average film-goer but will always seize the minds of the film historian. If you are looking for a well-made melodrama then this is it, but it comes with your  imagination and co-operation. 3.5/5