Center Stage
An absolute masterpiece in its own right.
Center Stage
International superstar Maggie Cheung (In the Mood for Love) embodies tragic screen siren Ruan Lingyu, known as the "Greta Garbo of China," in this unconventional biopic by Hong Kong New Wave master Stanley Kwan (Rouge). Praised for her moving and emotive onscreen presence, Ruan’s private life, which was frequent fodder for the vicious Shanghai tabloids, began to mirror the melodramas which brought her fame, culminating in her suicide at age 24. Kwan and Cheung paint a kaleidoscopic yet intimate portrait of the ill-fated actress, deftly blending lush period drama, archival footage, and metatextual documentary sequences of Cheung reflecting on Ruan’s legacy. The result is, much like the films of Ruan Lingyu themselves, “tender, vivid and almost overwhelmingly moving” (Time Out).
Genre
Drama,
Bio-pic,
Romance
Web Site
Runtime
154
Language
Cantonese,
Mandarin,
English
Director
Stanley Kwan
Cast
Maggie Cheung
Awards:
Winner, Silver Bear, Berlin International Film Festival
Nominee, Golden Bear, Berlin International Film Festival
FEATURED REVIEW
Lee Jutton, Film Inquiry
Center Stage, director Stanley Kwan‘s unusual but undeniably brilliant depiction of the life of silent film star Ruan Lingyu, begins with a series of stills of the actress from her earliest films when she was only 16. Many of these films are no longer available and deemed lost—a misfortune all too ...
Played at
Laemmle Virtual Cinema 4.02.21 - 5.27.21
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