What To Stream: Center Stage: Ruan Ling Yu 阮玲玉 (1991)
We picked the best movies and TV shows about HK, made in HK or by HK filmmakers, to stream right now, so you don’t have to be overwhelmed by all streaming services.
Center Stage: Ruan Ling Yu 阮玲玉
A film by Stanley Kwan 關錦鵬
Hong Kong | 1991 | 2hr 34min | Color | Cantonese, Mandarin, English | Subtitled
International superstar Maggie Cheung 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. 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.
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