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7.7/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 7.7/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. The Goddess remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
Honestly, if you want a feel-good romp, keep walking. The Goddess isn't here to make you feel warm and fuzzy. It’s for people who don't mind black-and-white subtitles and want to see a performance that feels like it’s vibrating off the screen. If you usually find older cinema "stiff," prepare to be corrected by Lingyu Ruan.
She does more with her eyes in one frame than most actors do in a whole trilogy. It’s 1934, and the camera lingers on her face in ways that feel almost intrusive. You can see the exhaustion in her posture, like she’s carrying the entire city on her back.
The cinematography is surprisingly moody. There’s this one sequence where she’s walking through the dark alleyways, and the lighting is just… suffocating. It reminded me a bit of the grit in Broadway After Dark, but way more intimate.
The pacing is deliberate. It doesn't rush to get to the next plot point because the plot isn't the point. The point is just her, existing in a world that’s set up to break her. Every time she smiles at her kid, it feels like she’s trying to hold back a flood. It’s painful.
I think about this film in the same way I think about She Went to See in a Rickshaw. Both movies seem obsessed with the grind of survival. But where others might get preachy or political, this one stays stuck in the mud of her personal life.
It’s not perfect. Sometimes the editing feels a bit clunky, like a jump cut that wasn't meant to be there. But honestly? It makes it feel more real. Like someone unearthed it from a basement and just hit play.
The ending isn't some grand victory. It’s just… life. It leaves you sitting there in the dark for a minute, wondering what you just watched. That’s usually the sign of a movie that’s worth the trouble. 🎥