appearance. The mob chases Danping to a different abandoned tower, as Xiao’ou goes to Xiaoxia. Cornered in the burning building, Danping jumps to his death in the river. At this very moment, Xiaoxia regains her sanity. The film closes with Xiao’ou promising to fight to achieve Danping's ideals, finally showing both him and Xiaoxia standing together, greeting the sunrise, while a recording of Danping's "Song at Midnight" plays. Cast Themes Author Yiman Wang argues that Song at Midnight not only presents left-wing nationalist ideology indirectly, but also alludes to the war anxieties of Chinese citizens in the late 1930s. According to Wang, the phantom in the film was related to the traumatic history in Shanghai and Hong Kong, which was under colonial domination. Indeed, Yomi Braester notes that the unique narrative style of the film also makes it different from the "soft movie" entertainment more prevalent in the 1930s. Braester goes on to state that because of its "hard" characteristics, left-wing critics were able to promote Socialist Realism through this film, emphasizing cinema's mission to awaken the masses. Director Ma-Xu Weibang was sensitive to the political anxiety among citizens, and used the genre of horror to implicitly express an intellectual thirst for political revolution, and discomfort with the status quo. Braester also posits that the plot is complicated by the theme of the scar. Danping is a talented opera singer whose face was turned into a horrifying cicatrix by Tang Jun's men, and as such, Danping's scar becomes the mark of the historic battle between feudal and revolutionary forces. Insofar as the facial deformity signals its bearer's sacrifice and the reality of his struggle, the scar is an icon of ideological virtue. Ironically, the scar also stands in counterpoint to the revolutionary message, because Danping is prevented from carrying out his mission due to the fact that he does not want to show his face in public, which could be read to be a veiled critique of film censors. Indeed, throughout the film, the scar threatens to become a sign of condemnation. Author Christopher Rea also notes the significance of Danping's voice itself as a controlling influence over the world of the film. For example, when Danping sings of rain and waves, the audience is shown images of these phenomena. Soundtrack Song at Midnight was released at the advent of sound films in China, with sound-recording technology provided the film