1988 - ROUGE, a showcase for actor Anita Mui

Anita Mui a Hong Kong singer and actress is the whole show in this love/ghost story directed by Stanley Kwan.  Mui was a major personality in the world of Asian entertainment.   She died of a brain tumor at 40 years old.  She was frequently associated with Jackie Chan and shows up in many of his films in odd roles like the step-mother or sort of a second choice girlfriend frequently playing down her glamorous looks.

In Rogue Mui plays a prostitute in 1930's Hong Kong who falls in love with a rich merchant played by Leslie Cheung another actor who died prematurely at age 46.  When this couple wants to get married Cheung's family refuses to acknowledge their relationship.  They make a pact to commit suicide together at which point the film jumps forward 50 years.  Mui now a ghost is searching for her lover who did not show up in the afterlife with her.

 

Mui actually doesn't act much in this film in the traditional sense. But she is a powerful physical presence throughout the film.  She does manage to portray a look of desperation and sadness throughout the later part of the film that is very effective

 

This is a rather unusual film to come out of Hong Kong in the 1980's.  Most of the films at that time were action films or action fantasy films for the most part.

The film was written by Yau Tai Ping On and Lilian Lee Pik Wah, the running time is 96 minutes.