Shot in luminous black-and-white in part by Subrata Mitra, best known for his work with Satyajit Ray and Merchant-Ivory, The Arch is a striking portrait of the plight of women in Chinese society with striking visual richness and distinctive rhythms which you get to experience on the big screen, newly restored.

While it’s reminiscent of classic East Asian melodramas, The Arch uses a whole host of exhilarating experimental techniques - from an expressionistic score to the film’s unconventional use of freeze frames, jump cuts and repeated shots (the film was co-edited by T’ang and the great American documentarian Les Blank) - which build to a startling crescendo. 

This was T’ang Shushuen’s self-financed debut feature - produced and released when the broader Chinese film industry was almost completely dominated by men - was among the first independent films to break out and garner international acclaim.

The Arch is one of the films under M+ Restored, an initiative supported by M+’s Major Partner, CHANEL.

Part of Cinema Rediscovered on Tour. All QFT Community, LUMI and paid Members will receive double loyalty points on tickets across the season. Not a member? Find the membership that suits you.