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Awards
at the Hong Kong Film Awards 1989:
Best Picture
Best Director (Stanley Kwan)
Best Actress (Anita Mui)
Best Editing (Cheung Yiu-Chung)
Best Original Film Score (Michael Lai)
Best Original Song: Yin ji kau (Rouge Arrest)
Music: Michael Lai
Lyrics: Edward Tang
Performed by: Anita Mui
Nominations at the Hong Kong Film Awards 1989:
Best Screenplay (Lillian Lee & Yau Daai On Ping)
Best Actor (Leslie Cheung)
Best Cinematography (Wong Chung-Biu)
Best Art Direction (Pok Yeuk-Muk & Ma Kwong-Wing)
Award at the Taiwan Golden Horse Awards 1988:
Best Actress (Anita Mui)
There's
much talk about the downfall of Hong Kong cinema, which is
true. We probably never again will experience something akin
to the 80s era for instance, where mainly action cinema was
thriving. Drama on the other hand had a strong flow well into
the 90s and still continues to give us gems thanks to directors
like Riley Yip (Just One Look) and Derek Yee (Lost
In Time). Even if it may seem like a tedious wait sometimes
between those mentioned gems, a good, hard look back in the
rearviewmirror may be just what the doctor ordered. There's
still much there to be grateful about, among those Stanley
Kwan's Rouge. This is of course is a film that ultimately
makes you miss, in a good and bad way, mainly because the
stars Leslie Cheung and Anita Mui are gone. Their work is
on the other hand immortalized in film and music, perhaps
the most memorably in this true Hong Kong cinema classic produced
by Jackie Chan.
In 1930s
Hong Kong, the courtesan Fleur (Anita Mui) and son of a wealthy
family, Master Chen (Leslie Cheung) falls in love but are
forbidden to go through with a marriage by his family. In
order to be together for all eternity, the two form a suicide
pact and agrees to meet in another life, in another world.
We then are transferred to the year of 1988, and arriving
to place a missing persons ad in the newspaper is the ghost
of Fleur, still walking alone...
With its Romeo & Juliet-esque storyline combined with
a truly Chinese atmosphere, Rouge is a touching piece
of cinema that has a quietness to it that is rather enchanting.
Director Stanley Kwan is not interested in hysterics or melodrama.
Instead this is a mellow, surely handled romance with, as
you might've gathered from the plot synopsis, a supernatural
flavour to it. The filmmakers choice to proceed veeeeery slowly
may alienate some (and have according to online reviews not
just for this Stanley Kwan film) but I found Rouge
so captivating thanks to curiosity created at the beginning
stages of the film. Fleur and Master Chen's first encounter
leading up to the suicide pact reveals a relationship of the
playful kind. She is a more classy courtesan with her guard
up while he brings a slight arrogance that says that ''I can
get what I want if I want it''. That creates a distanced chemistry
that on some level works against the film since they are later
described as such close lovers that they choose to take their
lives together. That chemistry I'm talking about will make
absolutely full sense to you by the end which makes Rouge
another example of a film that has to be followed through
until you make up your mind fully. When the film cuts to 1980s
Hong Kong, we do not get a change of pace but a continuation
of the story in the present with flashbacks occasionally entering
the film. The structure by Kwan and the filmmakers I really
like because it's not a given at any time how long or when
we're going to spend time in the present or the past. It's
the confident and even spot on handling by Kwan as to when
to further develop that makes Rouge so interesting
to follow through. As said, nothing is finalized until the
final frame of the film and it takes a patient viewer. You
just have to float with the narrative that slowly build towards
a surprising climax that solidifies Stanley Kwan's great work
in so many ways.
Kwan uses a limited amount of style and goes for full clarity
instead, without resorting to full on, annoying exposition.
The movie sure has that but part of the structure is
about we and the present characters being told the story by
Fleur. The content also speaks for itself thanks to the subtle
but expressive nature of the characters, and of course the
actors portraying them. We've talked about the flashbacks
but Kwan also uses short bursts of them, which is an interesting
effect. He either fades to black or seems to even kills all
source lights, which creates the same effect. Other than that,
because this is a character movie, his job is to let us have
full focus on that and there's no need for anything but the
camera to follow. That simple approach does come with some
camerawork that does an excellent job showcasing the wonderful
art direction and production design but at the same time employing
eye catching, sweeping moves within takes that allows for
a more spacious environment for the acting itself. A well
deserved nomination for cinematographer Bill
Wong. Also, the award winning editing by Cheung
Yiu-Chung deserves mention especially in the handling
of the ghost character of Fleur. Being the calm film it is,
no special effects whatsoever are used but instead, smart
cuts and a terrific direction of Anita Mui's movements creates
the effect.
In addition to being an engaging romance that through the
character of Fleur and the contemporary couple brings up questions
about fate, karma and dedication to love, it's also a wonderful
slideshow of Anita Mui's ageless beauty. Whenever Kwan focuses
on her tragic or joyful face, and especially wearing the period
wear, Anita looks so gorgeous that one can't help to be touched
on a level of reality as well. Rouge joins the lists
of Anita Mui performances that she will be fondly remembered
for and it's great that those memorable ones such as July
Rhapsody, Drunken Master II and Miracles
are very much different kinds of performances. She was not
just one thing in films. It's safe to claim that Rouge
is her finest role, at least in my mind. Fleur is a courtesan
with grace and true dedication for Chen in times where that
dedication is likely not to be rewarded due to other families
values. When we then encounter the ghost of Fleur, it's the
tragedy, the floating nature to her entire being that's called
for in addition to subtle, calm range of emotions that speaks
volumes. Somewhat relegated to almost a supporting role, Leslie
Cheung is the suave and handsome Master Chen. He starts off
as rather arrogant but is revealed as someone willing to go
against traditions both in love and in choosing his path in
life. Leslie brings that very nicely to the table, backed
up by director Kwan. It's really a credit to Stanley because
he could've let emotional matters go the hysteric route in
a story like this. Instead he creates a controlled environment
that breaks out into larger moment only when really needed,
something the actors respond to wonderfully well.
For the modern day couple, Kwan choose experienced TV- and
movie actor Alex Man (Hong Kong 1941, As Tears Go
By) and A Better Tomorrow's Emily Chu. In a way,
they have little purpose other than to be the sympathetic
couple that willingly helps and assists Fleur. There are moments
between them though that draws parallels with Chen & Fleur
and they ponder between themselves what lengths they would
go to prove their love in 1980s Hong Kong. While their described
purpose works well for what it is, it would've been nice to
get more depth to their characters. That's not say that their
respective performances are bad. They too blend in well with
the subdued tone. Alex in particular has been given a dorky
character image that makes him quite hard to recognize at
first if you're referencing the mentioned roles in your head.
Watch out for a brief cameo by Kara Hui as well.
Stanley Kwan's Rouge has a pace that may create an
underwhelming feel despite you knowing it's a touching, supernatural
romance playing out in front of you. The opposite is true
though when examining what it is closely. Kwan has taken on
the challenge, and succeeded, in reaching the hearts and minds
of viewers willing to put up with 90 minutes of just quietly
watching. It's not about how much he does, it's about
what he does, masterfully so. While not THE masterpiece
of Hong Kong cinema, it's nonetheless a classic that will
be forever remembered for its lead actors, especially Anita
Mui. Rest In Peace, both of you. We miss you.
The DVD:
Stanley Kwan's film finally got to look better than the but
it's not without its problems. As part of their remastering
of Hong Kong cinema classics, IVL presents the film in a anamorphically
enhanced 1.78:1 aspect ratio. Good news is that the print
is spotless, sports good colours and sharpness. The colour
scheme compared to prior dvd's appear more cold but seems
suitable for the mood of the film. Bad news is that the top
frame is noticeably cropped, resulting in a handful scenes
appearing very cramped. Slight grain can be seen throughout
most of the film also but whether or not that's an authoring
flaw or due to the original negative, I can't say.
EDIT: Cinedie at Asian DVD Guide have examined
the transfer more carefully and reveals more than just top
frame cropping. Check out his comparison.
There's a plethora of sound options available, which is really
overkill for a dialogue driven movie like Rouge. IVL
have received much criticism for being unable to properly
sync up the mono tracks on other releases but for this one
they seem to have gotten it right. Having said that, Rouge
hardly is filled with effects. Alternating between the Cantonese
Dolby Digital 5.1 remix and the Cantonese mono, the former
opens up the front stage slightly and features crisp sounding
dialogue. When effects do hit, such as the fireworks scene,
the added foley do distract and dialogue also is mixed much
lower compared to the mono option.
During Anita Mui's introduction while singing opera, the
mono track sounds incredibly muffled but it soon clears up
and the presentation is very much acceptable. Slight distortion
can be heard in the dialogue passages but personally, I prefer
this over the remix. Cantonese DTS 5.1 and Mandarin Dolby
Digital 5.1 are also included.
By comparing with Deltamac's subtitles (and also Megastar's
original disc), it appears that IVL have created a new English
translation for the film. Granted, the old one appeared quite
solid in the grammar and structure department but the new
one handles those aspects equally well, if not better. Regarding
which one is the better translation...well, you'll have to
ask a Cantonese speaker about that. Traditional and simplified
Chinese subtitles are also included.
IVL have put together a small extras package as well, main
one being the newly filmed interview with director
Stanley Kwan (11 minutes, 53 seconds). Optional English subtitles
are thankfully available. Kwan crams a lot of good information
in this all too brief chat including revelations of the original
director and cast for the film, main themes, sets and final
casting. It's a very good program but one IVL easily could've
expanded into something more substantial.
The remaining extras are 2 trailers (original
theatrical and a newly created one that plays up the ghost
angle just a little bit too much) and a 22-page photo gallery
(a slideshow option also exists for this). Promotional trailers
for A Better Better Tomorrow, Once Upon A Time In
China and Swordsman are also included.
The packaging itself holds a few items. Housed in a digipack
fold out case with different front and back cover art, inside
you'll find two small sized 24-page photo books containing
images from various Anita Mui and Leslie Cheung movies respectively.
Rouge gets covered more extensively and this is a nice
inclusion. Two bookmarks can also be found among the physical
extras, reportedly containing words from Stanley Kwan and
screenwriter Lillian Lee.
reviewed at Kenneth
Brorsson
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