Rouge
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Rouge
Plot
Hong Kong filmmaker Stanley Kwan directs this stunning supernatural melodrama about a passion, romance, and lost history. Fleur (Anita Mui) is a 1930s high-class courtesan who finds herself sucked into a doomed relationship with Twelfth Master Chan Chen-Pang (Leslie Cheung), the rakish scion of a prosperous business family that disapproves of their union. After a brief but intense courtship, the two resolve to be together in the afterworld by swallowing opium. Yet once there, Fleur discovers that she is alone. After waiting 50 years for her dearly beloved, she re-emerges in 1987 to place a personal ad. In the process, she enlists the aid of a pair of journalists: Yuen (Alex Man) and his feisty, occasionally jealous girlfriend Ah Chor (Emily Chu). Fleur learns that the Hong Kong she knew has by and large disappeared: the brothel where she worked was now a kindergarten. As she tells them of her love for Twelfth Master, the two journalists begin to find their relationship intensifying. As Fleur's spirit grows weaker, their search continues until it yields results that are both sad and ironic. ~ Jonathan Crow, RoviReview
At a time when Hong Kong ghost stories entailed cheesy dry ice effects and flying somersaults, Rouge recast these tired conventions into a poignant, touching work that artfully mixed realism with fantasy and tradition with modernity. Stanley Kwan used an inventive double storyline that switches between Hong Kong in the 1930s and Hong Kong in 1980s to explore themes of identity, history, and narrative. The two Hong Kongs are seen as both visually and culturally irreconcilable. The city of the 1930s is beautifully decadent yet hidebound to tradition, romantic yet cruel, while the Hong Kong of the 1980s is portrayed as neon-drenched, fast-paced, and empty. Their only common denominator is the presence of Fleur, a fading ghost from a more opulent era. Context and style aside, Rouge is a compelling, touching film that proved to be one of Hong Kong's most financially and artistically successful films. Pop star Anita Mui rocketed to film fame on the strength of her sensitive, modulated performance, while Leslie Cheung solidified his claim as one of Hong Kong's foremost leading men. Yet it was Kwan's masterful control of tone and mood that seemed to strike a chord with domestic audiences. Rouge was made after Britain announced that it would hand over Hong Kong to mainland China, and the film's popularity perhaps spoke to a desire to make sense of the past to gain a greater understanding of Hong Kong's uncertain future. ~ Jonathan Crow, RoviCast
- Anita Mui - Flower
- Leslie Cheung - Chan Chen-Pang
- Man Chi Leung - Yuen
- Emily Chu - Ah Chor
Credit
Stanley Kwan - Director, Jackie Chan - Executive Producer, Willie Chan - Executive Producer, Bill Wong - Cinematographer, Qiu Dai Anping - Screenwriter, Lilian Lee - Screenwriter| Rotweiler: Dogs of Hell (1984 Film), Rotwang Muss Weg! (1995 Film) | |
| Rouge Baiser (1985 Film), Rouge Ciel, un essai sur l'art brut (2009 Film) |
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
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Rouge (film)
- For the Kieślowski film, see Three Colors: Red.
| Rouge | |
|---|---|
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| Directed by | Stanley Kwan |
| Produced by | Jackie Chan Leonard Ho |
| Written by | Tai An-Ping Chiu Lilian Lee Pik Wah |
| Starring | Leslie Cheung Anita Mui |
| Music by | Siu-Tin Lei |
| Cinematography | Bill Wong |
| Editing by | Peter Cheung |
| Studio | Golden Harvest Golden Way Films |
| Release date(s) | January 7, 1988 |
| Running time | 96 min / USA:93 min |
| Language | Cantonese |
| Box office | HK$17.476 million |
Rouge (Chinese: 胭脂扣; pinyin: Yānzhī kòu; Cantonese Yale: Yìnjì kau; Jyutping: Jin1zi1 kau3) is a 1988 Hong Kong film, directed by Stanley Kwan. The movie is the adaptation of the novel by Lilian Lee.
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Contents
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Plot
Chan Chen-Pang, better known as the "12th Young Master" (played by Leslie Cheung), was a fashionable playboy who frequented the opium dens prevalent in Hong Kong in 1934, where he met the high-class and much sought-after courtesan, Fleur (Anita Mui).
They began a passionate love affair, something frowned upon by the family of 12th Master, who held sway over the business of the area. Clearly, their love was doomed when it was found out. Seeing no way to pursue their love in life, on March 8 at 11pm, the couple resolved to commit suicide together by swallowing opium, and promise to meet again in the afterlife. After waiting for Chan in hell for 50 years, Fleur returns to the world of the living to look for him, wondering why he has not emerged. A spirit now, she searches for her lover in a Hong Kong she no longer recognizes. She decides to place a newspaper advertisement seeking Chan (using the code "3811", to indicate the eighth day of the third month at eleven pm, the time of their suicide), and enlists the assistance of Yuen (Alex Man) and his understandably suspicious girlfriend, Chor (Emily Chu).
Fleur did find her lover in the end, but she was surprised, dismayed and felt cheated, as Chen-Pang did not die in the suicide pact. How he survived the suicide attempt was not explained, but Fleur seemed to have understood that he had not been entirely honest on his part. Not surprisingly, due to his wayward and flirtatious nature, he was reduced to poverty where he lived to be an old and forgotten man well into his late 70s, making a living as a Chinese opera stand-in and living in the cramped quarters of the opera set itself. Recognising Fleur instantly, he begged her for her forgiveness but his pleas fell on deaf ears. As she drifted effortlessly away, Fleur realised that he had indeed suffered much more than she had, as his guilty conscience haunted him for so many years. She returned the rouge case he gave her 50 years ago. Retribution has been paid in kind and she was content to leave as the living world is no longer her home.
Cast includes
- Leslie Cheung - Chan Chen-Pang
- Anita Mui - Fleur
- Alex Man - Yuen
- Irene Wan - Shu-Hsien
- Emily Chu - Ah Chor
- Kara Hui - Actress Portraying Ghost
- Lau Kar Wing - Movie Director
- Patrick Tse - Brothel Patron
- Ruby Wong
- Jackie Chan Stunt Team - extra/stunts
Awards
- 1988 Torino International Festival of Young Cinema: International Feature Film Competition Special Mention
- 1988 Nantes Three Continents Festival: Golden Montgolfiere
- 1988 Golden Horse Film Festival: Best Actress (Anita Mui)
- 1989 Asia-Pacific Film Festival: Best Actress (Anita Mui)
- 1989 Hong Kong Film Awards: Best Actress (Anita Mui), Best Director (Stanley Kwan), Best Film Editing, Best Original Film Score, Best Original Film Song ("Yin Ji Kau"), Best Picture
See also
External links
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