Rouge (film)
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Rouge (胭脂扣, Yin ji kau) is a 1987 Hong Kong movie, directed by Stanley Kwan. The movie is the adaptation of the novel by Lillian Lee.
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 clearly frowned upon by the family of 12th Master who held sway over the business of the area and clearly their love was doomed when it was found out. On March 8 at 11pm, the couple resolved to meet in the afterlife and covenanted to swallow poisoned opium, assuring each other that they would meet each other after 50 years. After 50 years has elapsed, Fleur, a spirit now, found herself alone in the rendezvous place and did not recognise the Hong Kong she once knew. She sought to place an advertisement seeking Chan (using the code "3811", the time of their suicides) and enlists the assistance of Yuen (Alex Man) and his often jealous 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. 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 to deaf ears. As she drifted effortlessly away, Fleur realised that he had indeed suffered much more than she had, as his guilty conscience has haunted him for so many years. Retribution has been paid in kind and she was content to leave as the living world is not her home.
Cast includes
- Leslie Cheung - Chan Chen-Pang
- Anita Mui - Fleur
- Emily Chu - Ah Chor
- Kara Hui - Actress Portraying Ghost
- Liu Chia Yung - Movie Director
- Alex Man - Yuen
- Irene Wan - Shu-Hsien
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
Trivia
- The film title Rouge refers to the cosmetic, which was a red strip used to colour the lips before the advent of the lipstick; Fleur was shown using it at the very beginning of the film.
- Chan Chen-Pang isn't actually the 12th child of his father, but the 2nd. People call him the 12th Young Master because it is a custom in the 1930s to make the prominent families sound like they have more sons and therefore more bustling.
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