Rouge (film)

Rouge
Rouge
	Film poster
Chinese	胭脂扣
Hanyu Pinyin	Yānzhī kòu
Yale Romanization	Yìnjì kau
Jyutping	Jin1zi1 kau3
Directed by	Stanley Kwan
Written by	Yau Tai Ping On; Lilian Lee Pik Wah
Produced by	Jackie Chan; Leonard Ho
Starring	Anita Mui; Leslie Cheung
Cinematography	Bill Wong
Edited by	Peter Cheung
Music by	Michael Lai; Tang Siu Lam
Production; companies	Golden Harvest; Golden Way Films
Release dates	5 December 1988 (Taiwan); 7 January 1988 (Hong Kong);
Running time	96 min / USA:93 min
Language	Cantonese
Box office	HK$17,476,414

Rouge (Chinese: 胭脂扣; Jyutping: Jin1zi1 kau3) is a 1988 Hong Kong supernatural romantic-drama film, directed by Stanley Kwan and starring Anita Mui and Leslie Cheung. The film is the adaptation of a novel with the same title by Lilian Lee.

Plot

In 1987 Hong Kong, newspaperman Yuen and his girlfriend, Chor are drawn into a doomed 1930s romance when the ghost of courtesan Fleur publishes an advertisement in the newspapers, looking for her lost lover Chan Chen-Pang. She has waited in the afterlife for Chan for 53 years and believes he has become lost.

Chan was the playboy son of a wealthy family, but longed to be an actor, met and fell in love with talented, beautiful Fleur in one of Hong Kong's teahouses. Realising their romance would never be accepted, the couple committed suicide by opium overdose in order to be together in the afterlife.

Pragmatic Yuen and Chor become dazzled by the romance of Fleur's story and the ghost's glamorous beauty, but as their search for Chan reveals the truth - that Chan did not die with Fleur, frittered away his inheritance and now lives impoverished as a movie extra - they see the value of their own, honest relationship.

The title refers to a rouge case Chan gave to Fleur, which she returns to the now-elderly, guilt-wracked man, before leaving the living world.

Cast

Anita Mui as Fleur
Leslie Cheung as Chan Chen-Pang
Alex Man as Yuen
Irene Wan as Shu-Hsien
Emily Chu as Ah Chor
Kara Hui as Ghost
Lau Kar-wing as Movie Director
Patrick Tse as Brothel Patron
Ruby Wong
Jackie Chan Stunt Team – extra/stunts

Release

The film received a Region 1 Criterion Collection home video release in 2022.^[1]

Awards


Year	Award	Category	Recipient	Result	Notes
1988	Torino International Festival of Young Cinema	International Feature Film Competition		Special Mention	^{[citation needed]}
	Nantes Three Continents Festival	Grand Prix		Won	^[2]
	24th Golden Horse Awards	Best Leading Actress	Anita Mui	Won
	Asia-Pacific Film Festival	Best Actress	Anita Mui		^{[citation needed]}
1989	8th Hong Kong Film Awards	Best Film	Golden Way Films Ltd./Golden Harvest Films	Won
		Director	Stanley Kwan	Won
		Best Actress	Anita Mui	Won
		Best Film Editing	Peter Cheung	Won
		Best Original Film Score	Lai Siu-Tin	Won
		Best Original Film Song	"Yin Ji Kau"	Won

References

^ Cole, Jake (15 July 2022). "'Rouge' Blu-ray Review: The Criterion Collection". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
^ "Festival 1988". Festival des 3 Continents. Retrieved 22 January 2024.

External links

[1] Cole, Jake (15 July 2022). "'Rouge' Blu-ray Review: The Criterion Collection". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 9 November 2022.

[2] "Festival 1988". Festival des 3 Continents. Retrieved 22 January 2024.

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