Rouge (film)

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For the Kieślowski film, see Three Colors: Red.
Rouge
Directed by Stanley Kwan
Produced by Jackie Chan
Leonard Ho
Written by Tai An-Ping Chiu
Lilian Lee
Bik-Wa Lei
Starring Leslie Cheung
Anita Mui
Music by Siu-Tin Lei
Cinematography Bill Wong
Editing by Peter Cheung
Release date(s) 1987
Running time 96 min / USA:93 min
Language Cantonese
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Rouge (胭脂扣, Yin ji kau) is a 1987 Hong Kong film, directed by Stanley Kwan. The movie is the adaptation of the novel by Lilian Lee.

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[edit] 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 frowned upon by the family of 12th Master, who held sway over the business of the area. Clearly, their love was doomed when it was found out. Seeing no way to pursue their love in life, on March 8 at 11pm, the couple resolved to commit suicide together by swallowing opium, and promise to meet again in the afterlife. After waiting for Chan in hell for 50 years, Fleur returns to the world of the living to look for him, wondering why he has not emerged. A spirit now, she searches for her lover in a Hong Kong she no longer recognizes. She decides to place a newspaper advertisement seeking Chan (using the code "3811", to indicate the eighth day of the third month at eleven pm, the time of their suicide), and enlists the assistance of Yuen (Alex Man) and his understandably suspicious 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 in the suicide pact. 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 on deaf ears. As she drifted effortlessly away, Fleur realised that he had indeed suffered much more than she had, as his guilty conscience haunted him for so many years. She returned the rouge case he gave her 50 years ago. Retribution has been paid in kind and she was content to leave as the living world is no longer her home.

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[edit] Trivia

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  • 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 various times during the film. When they first met, 12th Master gave her a case of rouge as a love token,she returned it when she finally met him again 50 years later.
  • Chan Chen-Pang isn't actually the 12th child of his father, but the second. "12th Master" is used to keep him safe from harm because his elder brother (1st Master) is dead and Chan Chen-Pang is therefore the heir to the family fortune. If the family has angered the spirits, or are unlucky, the second child could be the next to die.
  • The role of Chan Chen-Pang was actually relatively minor in the book, but as Lilian Lee, the author and one of the scriptwriters, is very fond of Leslie, she decided to add more scenes for Chan.

[edit] See also