They showed closeups of Maria Ouspenskaya's character several times in the dinner party scene at the end, as if she should be highly significant and incriminating, but she didn't say a word and no one discussed her presence.
I can only assume there was film cut that would have made the connection. The version I saw was 99 minutes long. Has anyone seen a longer one that would explain this mysterious character?
yes, I have seen one that is almost 20 minutes longer and it is an amazing film, would love to get a copy (see my post here called 'versions')
shareDid the longer version explain anything about the Ouspenskaya character? It's hard to believe they would hire a magnificent, experienced character actress to just stand there and never say a word.
shareit did... at one point Madame Ginsling explains her early life, that she was sold into prostitution by the man Poppy's father after she had her baby and that the Amah, (Ouspenskaya) rescued her. Also, it is made clear at some point that the Amah raised Madame Ginsling... I got the impression that she may have been someone else before, and that the reason she changed her name to Madame Ginsling was to avoid shame to her rich and influential family who disowned her when she ran off with a white man. There was a rich underlay of racism, which was very advanced for a film from the period. Of course, the asians were played by white actors, so - it wasn't a concerted effort on all sides :)
shareFelt that even without the twenty minutes she is there to corroborate Gin Sling's story, in case anyone should doubt it.
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