The Good Earth (1937)

White people playing Chinese characters: what do you expect from a Hollywood production in 1937?  Adapted from the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Pearl S. Buck, it’s one of those classic movies modern audiences will have trouble accepting simply because of the casting.  Yet Paul Muni and Luise Rainer are incredible.  They could have easily played caricatures but they find an emotional heart that transcends race.   The story is about a farmer and his wife and their struggle to farm and raise their three children.  I enjoyed the novel very much when I read it many years ago and was not looking forward to this film but it’s a wonderfully crafted adaptation and I recommend it to anyone who loves classic cinema.   Someday maybe an actor can play a character not of their race (or gender even) without causing a fuss again, but not until all actors have the same opportunity.  Motion capture technology might allow this to happen, where one is judged by their acting center alone and not what they look like.  Grade: A-