An adaptation of the Madame Butterfly story, The Toll of the Sea presents a tale of cross-racial love and loss set amidst the opulent gardens of an exoticised China. The film follows Lotus Flower (played by Anna May Wong in her first leading role), a young Chinese woman who falls in love with an American traveler. Costume and colour are used to highlight a view of East as a land of pleasure and sensuality. Lotus Flower’s vibrant silk dresses in red and green, enhanced by the ‘natural’ process of two-colour Technicolor, connect her Chinese identity and feminine beauty to the natural surroundings. In a failed attempt to assimilate, Lotus Flower shifts to muted Western fashion. Ultimately, though, clothing is unable to change who she is, and she resigns herself to her tragic fate in an exuberantly embroidered silk robe. 

With live music by leading silent film accompanist Stephen Horne. Film introduction by fashion curator Isabella Coraça.

This event is presented in partnership with V&A Dundee, and is part of the Garden Futures: Designing with Nature exhibition (17 May 2025 – 25 January 2026).

Content warning: includes exoticising images that may be culturally insensitive or offensive.