Back to Golden Days

After World War II, the world was divided into two competing ideological and military blocs: the West, led by the capitalist United States, and the East, which operated within the Soviet Union's communist sphere. Under the authoritarian rule of Mao Zedong, China initially aligned with the USSR, securing much-needed economic and industrial aid, as well as military support to counter American influence in East Asia. In the late 1950s, however, border disputes and ideological disagreements led China to break the alliance with the Eastern Bloc and become an independent power, challenging both Soviet and American policies. As a result of the Sino-Soviet split and the trade restrictions imposed by the United States after the Korean War, China experienced a significant period of economic and cultural isolation that ended only in the early 1970s. In the midst of the political tensions of the Cold War, Chinese-born Eurasian physician and author Han Suyin emerged as a key figure in bridging...

Directed by John Cromwell, Since You Went Away (1944) is set in 1943 and tells the story of Anne Hilton (Claudette Colbert), an upper-middle-class housewife with two teenage daughters, Jane (Jennifer Jones) and Bridget «Brig» (Shirley Temple). After Anne's husband, Tim, enlists in the U.S. Army, the family must make sacrifices for the war effort, including food rationing, giving up the services of their maid, Fidelia (Hattie McDaniel), who is still willing to keep on working for free, and taking in a boarder, the retired Colonel William G. Smollett (Monty Woolley). In contrast, their cynical socialite neighbour, Emily Hawkins (Agnes Moorehead), complains about the inconveniences caused by the war and criticizes the Hiltons' efforts and patriotism. Claudette Colbert, Jennifer Jones and Shirley Temple in Since You Went Away .   In the meantime, an old friend of the Hiltons, U.S. Navy Lieutenant Tony Willett (Joseph Cotten), visits the family while awaiting his orders. Jane soon ...