Rouge

Hong Kong in the thirties. Fleur is a courtesan working in a teahouse. She meets Chan Chen-pang, the son of a wealthy family, and the two become attached. His family will not accept the relationship and his inheritance is cut off. They have no means of living together. They make an agreement: they will die together and meet in the next world. Fleur dies. Fifty years later she comes to a newspaper office wanting to place a notice; she has not found him and is still looking. The couple at the office do not believe her at first. Stanley Kwan directs. Anita Mui plays Fleur and Leslie Cheung plays Chan. It is a Hong Kong production. The film is among the most cited works of Hong Kong cinema and one of the best known parts for both actors. The structure runs on two times; the thirties and the eighties alternate and the difference between them is the subject. The matter it treats is how attachment has changed; the couple in the present love each other but cannot even conceive of doing the same thing. The period reconstruction is detailed; the teahouse, the costume and the daily order are built with care. Anita Mui won the best actress awards in Hong Kong and Taiwan for the part. The ending does not tie the ghost story to an emotional resolution and explains nothing. Who it is for: viewers who like Hong Kong cinema and period narratives. Who it is not for: the pace is slow, the narrative melancholy, and the ending cold.