Piccadilly

E. A. Dupont's 1929 British film follows a young Chinese woman working in the scullery of a London nightclub who is given a chance on stage. Shosho quickly becomes the club's star; but her rise is bound up with the desire everyone around her feels for her and the danger that brings. The film was made at the end of the silent era and is counted among the finest visual works of British cinema. Anna May Wong plays the best role of her career here, having come to Europe after being confined to supporting parts in Hollywood. The censors would not allow her to kiss a white actor and the scene was cut; that cut is now the most discussed thing about the film. Who it's for: viewers interested in silent cinema and the history of representation. Who it's not for: anyone wanting a fast narrative, or troubled by the racial conventions of the period.