China, during the rule of the Qing Dynasty. The arranged marriage between Wang Lung, a humble farmer, and O-Lan, a domestic slave, will endure the many hardships of life over the years; but the temptations of a fragile prosperity will endanger their love and the survival of their entire family.
It's a typically lumbering, cautious, overblown Thalberg project, saved by Rainer's genuinely moving, Oscar-winning portrayal of Chinese peasantry, and by an immensely spectacular storm of locusts.
– ,
Time Out,
9 Feb 2006
rotten:
Critical opinion has not been kind, but studio excavators may find much to admire.
– Pat Graham,
Chicago Reader,
1 Jan 2000
fresh:
Once again Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer has enriched the screen with a superb translation of a literary classic.