The 1991 Hong Kong film Center Stage (阮玲玉), starring Maggie Cheung, is playing online via Row House Cinema through May 6.
Hong Kong New Wave master Stanley Kwan’s unconventional biopic tells the tragic story of “Greta Garbo of China” — Ruan Lingyu, played by Maggie Cheung. 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)Tickets are available online.