Malu tianshi (Street Angel)

The most entertaining Chinese film classic of all time: a blend of experimental urban symphony montage, iconic musical numbers, whimsical slapstick scenes, a touching romantic comedy, and a socially critical melodrama. Xiao Hong, a teahouse singer who lives with her sister—a sex worker—falls in love with the eccentric street trumpeter Xiao Chen. When her boss tries to sell Xiao Hong to a gangster, the sisters team up to escape. *Street Angel* marked the breakthrough for singer Zhou Xuan, known as the “Golden Voice,” who is perfectly complemented here by her co-star Zhao Dan as the trumpet player with his hyperactive energy. Even though the film was canonized as a leftist classic after 1949, its inexhaustible dynamism and dazzling range of genres lend it an anarchic power that transcends all political labels.