CRITIC:
LOS ANGELES TIMES (Kevin Thomas)
An impressive Debut. Shu Shuen is adroit at revealing the painful conflict between emotions and appearances, at driving home the multi-level psychological, social and philosophical implications of her story in paradoxical fashion.
BOSTON AFTER DARK(Deac RosselI)
"Each facial expression, each gesture important. There is a fine marriage of style and content .... Go and see this unique and evenly powerful film.
LOS ANGELES HERALD-EXAMINER(Michael Ross)
"THE ARCH" seems the work of a painter and sculptor, as well as a dramatist.
It is a thoughtful, mature and honest film characterised by superb acting and sensitive direction. A serene, immaculate, honest and mature film that works in the difficult area where the emotional nuance resounds passionately. A magnificent performance by Lisa Lu.
HOLLYWOOD CITIZEN-NEWS (Charles Faber)
Shu Shuen has produced, written and directed a flawless work of art, as exquisite as anything ever recorded on film. The chief reason is that the greatly gifted young woman has totally fulfilled her artistic intentions by keeping all the elements of the film (her first) in perfect scale.
Everything bears a completely honest relationship to everything else. This rare sense of proportion and fitness is astonishing.
Beautiful Lisa Lu possesses the elegant restraint which is the essence of Madam Tung, and conveys her emotions, including passion, with precise economical means that obtain overpowering results .... "THE ARCH" would be a keystone in anyone's career, but for one as young as Shu Shuen it is an arch of triumph.
LOS ANGELES FREE PRESS (Richard Whitehall)
A work of pure limpid passion and beauty.
THE IMAGE(Doug Jones)
Shu Shuen's film THE ARCH, is more than good - it ranks as one of the best foreign films I have ever seen. This first film shows every mark of an accomplished director, with the black-and-white composition adhering closely to the Eisensteinian aesthetic.
INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE
(Thomas-Quinn Curtiss)
Narrative, acting, photography and composition are ever in perfect harmony in this very beautiful and singularly moving love story woven into a cinematic tapestry of lovely delicacy by Miss Shu Shuen's unusual art. You will find here a subtle sensitivity and a haunting lyric tone that are uncommon on the screen.
LES LETTRES FRANCAISES (Marcel Martin)
A film that leads us directly to the heart of Oriental mythology. A glance or gesture reveal a symbolic universe, and the camera touches everything with controlled sensuality.
The main drama and the classical aspect of the treatment often remind us of Corneille and Racine.
LA CROX (Jean Rochereau)
I am already prepared to reach a verdict on the films of 1969, convinced that one film alone will be considered exceptional. It can easily be compared to "La Princesse de Cleves", but there is also much in it that reminds us of "The Book of Proverbs" and "Ecclesiastes" .... THE ARCH is indeed a classical tragedy. It is in the delicate and tactful evocation of sensuality: the very acme of passion is revealed by an allusive hint. When two hands chance to touch Shu Shuen reveals a whole world of desire and passion. Only a civilization more refined than ours can express so much with such constraint.
FRANCE-NOUVELLE (Albert Cervoni)
Without a note of vulgarity, Shu Shuen totally and successfully recreates the sensibility and pulse of a distant epoch. THE ARCH is a revelation thanks to its sensibility, its neo-realism and its director's discretion.
TELERAMA (Jean Collet)
You should see THE ARCH as quickly as possible : it is an exceptional work of reserved beauty and great serenity, qualities which remind us of Mizoguchi and Satyajit Ray. It is a delicate, compassionate film, full of feminine intuition. Go and see THE ARCH: you will leave the cinema feeling spiritually refreshed.
L' HUMANITE DIMANCHE (Samuel Lachize)
A film of astonishing limpidity which deals with genuine emotions. It is the work of a director who has understood that cinema is certainly the best way to express personal feelings. With all my heart I recommend it to you.
Film subtle, intelligent, exciting. A treat for the eye and a wealth of human truth.
LE NOUVEL OBSERVATEUR
(Jean-Louis Bory)
THE ARCH reminds us of the aesthetic truism that you say more when you say less. The time of understatement has returned. Watching THE ARCH we are liable to faint, not because of its excess, but like our grand fathers when they saw a naked ankle.... The charm of this film holds us spellbound, Shu Shuen's images are gripping and the traditional music is often heart-rending.
A "Princesse de Cleves" of the Ming epoch. The art of litotes taken to the extreme of refinement.
(Michel Mardore)
The first astonishing feature by Shu Shuen .... THE ARCH can be compared to the best of Japanese films .... Shu Shuen intuitively rediscovers the aristocratic dignity of her ancestors. A charming and refined work without a note of vulgarity. Remarkable purity of design. In all, a very rare pleasure. This film is a sequel of wonderful engravings, tense with desire and suppressed violence. If classicism still means something, Shu Shuen, despite her youth, is a classical director. The graceful gestures with which the widow sweeps the courtyard are enough to evoke the whole civilization of 17th century China. Very beautiful.
L' HUMANITE (Francois Maurin)
The work of a brilliant young director with a definite gift for the medium and a delicate touch.
One of the most touching films we shall see for a long time. It is also an extraordinarily mature work. The stylistic beauty and maturity of the film is equally astonishing. The young director, Shu Shuen, may sometimes remind us of Mizoguchi, but a distinctively personal note pervades the film and the scenario itself is a first rate piece of work. This is a film you must absolutely see.
SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER (Stanley Eichelbaum)
I was flabbergasted by the individuality and haunting poetic delicacy of "THE ARCH''.…It's like no other Chinese movies that I've ever seen .... A brilliant debut .... Shu Shuen freely ad叩ted the 17th century tale into sophisticated modern psychological terms .... It is the same conflict that dominated the plays of Racine. But Shu Shuen treats it with a Chekhovian feeling for calm, unhurried and penetrating character analysis .... Pictorially, her film is dazzling .... The acting is superbly compelling.
PARISCOPE
Excellent psychological study of the characters. The director's sensibility make this film a masterpiece which reminds us of Chekov's short stories.
LE CANARD ENCHANE (Michel Duran)
It is a subtle, delicate and extraordinarily unassuming work of art. THE ARCH is a film for those who still have enough tenderness in them to want to step out of our own mad world, at least for 1% hours.