In the same vein as Shanghai Express, this film uses exotic locations and foreigners as a means of escapism for audience goers and the story is seen almost entirely through the lens of western eyes. That being said, however this film is far more realistic and gripping in its subject matter than Shanghai Express and thus extending the heritage of the 1920's in putting forward extremely bold storylines. We’re talking about rape, about sexual slavery, it’s really sordid stuff. The film is also seriously dealing with such issues of the day as interracial relationships. It takes that matter very seriously in how the actors are playing a delicate dance around each other in what otherwise would have been a straightforward romantic love story. We're also getting a glimpse at Chinese wartime and the state of anarchy and violent chaos that was plaguing the country. The film really shined a light on the vulnerability of not just women but the Chinese people during this era and how there were growing humanitarian crises starting to emerge into the 1930s.
This is a film from the 20’s getting serious backlash from the public of the 30’s who did not want this sort of content. It’s striking how the cultural environment changed from 1928 to 1932, obviously because of the depression, to be hostile to “subversive” concepts, especially interracial sex. The film was actively slammed for having this content and putting it out there. The public outcry against this film stands as evidence to the fact that the American people were becoming more isolationist, nativist and closed off to the rest of the world during the Depression (a seemingly similar theme to the Trump era).