Search films, venues, guests...

The Arch

Directed by T'ang Shushuen
Hong Kong
1968
95 mins

Synopsis

An early landmark of Hong Kong independent cinema, now gloriously restored, T’ang Shushuen’s ravishing debut follows a widow torn between desire and duty. Cannes Classics 2025.

Made when T’ang Shushuen was just 27, The Arch is one of the earliest independent films made in Hong Kong. In Qing dynasty China, the widowed Madame Tung has been enshrined as a model of virtue, with an imperial arch soon to be erected in her honour. But when a soldier overseeing its construction arrives, an unspoken attraction unsettles her carefully ordered life – and grows more painful when her daughter also falls for him. Shot by Satyajit Ray cinematographer Subrata Mitra and edited by Les Blank, this exquisite debut turns a tale of repression into something quietly radical – a deeply felt portrait of female longing, social constraint and desire pushed inward until it can no longer be contained.

“One of the most magical tricks of cinema is that there is no such thing as an old film. You start to unspool The Arch from 1968 and you’re right there. The screen is like a cleansing board, and time evaporates.”
Tilda Swinton

Tickets

Sat 6 June 2026, 12pm
State Library of NSW
Assisted ListeningWheelchair

If you like this, you might like...

Retrospective
Useless
Acclaimed auteur Jia Zhangke (Caught by the Tides, SFF 2024) documents China’s clothing industry from three perspectives: factory workers, a fashion designer, and a tailor.
Gentle Monster
An incredible Léa Seydoux stars in Corsage director Marie Kreutzer's gripping, emotionally charged study of a wife and mother forced to confront the unthinkable. Cannes Competition.
Short
Ginkgo
A woman with dementia, under her daughter's care, drifts between reality and memories of her mother when she was a child.
Retrospective
Queen Kelly
After almost a century, visionary silent director Erich von Stroheim’s lavish and unwieldy final film is restored and reimagined, starring the great Gloria Swanson. Venice 2025.
Aboriginal FlagTorres Strait Flag

Sydney Film Festival acknowledges Australia’s First Nations People as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the land, and pay respect to the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, upon whose Country SFF is based.

We honour the storytelling and culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across Australia.

Don’t miss a thing!

Whether you’re in Sydney or one of our rural locations, sign up to our newsletters for all the latest news and offers.

SFF
About
Support
General Enquiries
Ticketing Enquiries
Office Hours

MONDAY – FRIDAY: 9AM – 5PM AEDT

Discover
Follow
In Partnership With:
Website by ED.

Don't miss a thing!

Whether you're in Sydney or one of our rural locations, sign up to our newsletters for all the latest news and offers.