In the late 1920s some of the more avant garde filmmakers experimented with making romances that probed the psyches of their principal male characters. These characters were dramatists, college students, poets, etc., characters with artistic or scholarly achievements, but tending to be overly romantic and sentimental, therefore easily exploited. After his frustrating experience with Go to the People, Tian Han was eager to try again at filmmaking, as well as let out some of those leftover frustrations.
[above, Tian Han]
Although "A Lakeside Dream" was Tian Han's first successful venture into motion pictures, before it was released, he remarked that he considered it experimental, unlikely to make any money. It seems to have been an emotional catharsis for Tian, whose protagonist, the frustrated dramatist Sun Bijiang, was a vague representation of Tian himself. Tian was heavily influenced by Freudian psychoanalysis, in fact uncritically accepting of Freudian theory, and before writing this screenplay he immersed himself in researching the behavior of those involved in sado-masochistic relationships. -- [Tian, Han. Yingshi zhui huai lu 影事追怀录 (Movie Memories). Beijing: China Film Press, 1981, p.83.]
Hubian Chunmeng (1927) 湖边春梦 (A Lakeside Dream)
Mingxing. B&W. Silent. 9 reels. Premiered October 9, 1927 at the Palace. Direction: Bu Wancang. Screenplay and program notes: Tian Han. Cinematography: Dong Keyi, Shi Shiqing. Sets: Dong Tianya. Cast: Gong Jianong (Sun Bijiang), Yang Naimei (Li Qibo), Xiao Ying (Peng Feixiong), Tang Jie (stage manager), Mao Jianpei (Fei Cuixian), Lin Zhusan (Huang the director), Huang Junpu (the clown), Wang Mengshi (Ma Weifu), Wang Xianzhai (first performer), Gao Lihen (second performer), Dong Xiangping (third performer).
Playwright Sun Bijiang has a falling out with his protegée actress Fei Cuixian over her playgirl lifestyle.
[Gong Jianong chides actress Mao Jianpei about her playgirl ways]
To get over it, he takes a holiday trip to West Lake at Hangzhou, and on the train meets Peng Feixiong and his wife Li Qibo, a strangely mismatched married couple. The three are staying at the same lakeside inn, and as they become more acquainted, the dramatist and the wife, Li Qibo, begin an affair.
[right, Sun meets a strange couple: Xiao Ying, left; Yang Naimei, right]
But it turns out she is a sadist, and as part of their daily lovemaking demands he allow himself to be bound and whipped. After his initial shock, he finds to his surprise he enjoys it.
[left, his new lover shows Sun a new way to have fun and games]
During one of their outdoor sessions, a gang of bandits sets upon them and abducts Li; but when Sun awakens he pursues them, kills the bandit chieftain and rescues her, despite being badly wounded. He awakens in the hospital to hear a doctor saying, "You're pretty lucky: you've had a fever and been delirious, but you'll be all right". It had all been a dream. But what did it mean? Were these his true, his innermost desires?
[right, a romantic dream of heroism]
