''Rouge'' (;

Jyutping Jyutping is a romanisation system for Cantonese developed by the Linguistic Society of Hong Kong (LSHK), an academic group, in 1993. Its formal name is the Linguistic Society of Hong Kong Cantonese Romanization Scheme. The LSHK advocates for ...

: Jin1zi1 kau3) is a 1987

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

supernatural Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...

romantic-drama film, directed by

Stanley Kwan Stanley Kwan (traditional Chinese: 關錦鵬; simplified Chinese: 关锦鹏); born 9 October 1957) is a Hong Kong film director and producer. Kwan landed a job at TVB after receiving a mass communications degree at Hong Kong Baptist College. ...

and starring

Anita Mui Anita Mui Yim-fong (; 10 October 1963 – 30 December 2003) was a Hong Kong singer and actress who made major contributions to the Cantopop music scene and received numerous awards and honours. She remained an idol throughout her career, and i ...

and

Leslie Cheung Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing (12 September 1956 – 1 April 2003) was a Hong Kong singer and actor. Throughout a 26-year career from 1977 until his death, Cheung released over 40 music albums and acted in 56 films. He was one of the most prominent ...

. The film is the adaptation of a novel with the same title by

Lilian Lee Lillian or Lilian can refer to: People * Lillian (name) or Lilian, a given name Places * Lilian, Iran, a village in Markazi Province, Iran In the United States * Lillian, Alabama * Lillian, West Virginia * Lillian Township, Custer County, Ne ...

Plot

In 1987 Hong Kong, newspaperman Yuen and his girlfriend, Chor are drawn into a doomed 1930s romance when the ghost of

courtesan Courtesan, in modern usage, is a euphemism for a "kept" mistress (lover), mistress or prostitute, particularly one with wealthy, powerful, or influential clients. The term historically referred to a courtier, a person who attended the Royal cour ...

Fleur publishes an advertisement in the newspapers, looking for her lost lover Chan Chen-Pang. She has waited in the afterlife for Chan for 53 years and believes he has become lost. Chan was the playboy son of a wealthy family, but longed to be an actor, who met and fell in love with talented, beautiful Fleur in one of

teahouse A teahouse (mainly Asia) or tearoom (also tea room) is an establishment which primarily serves tea and other light refreshments. A tea room may be a room set aside in a hotel especially for serving afternoon tea, or may be an establishment whi ...

s. Realising their romance would never be accepted, the couple committed suicide by opium overdose in order to be together in the afterlife. Pragmatic Yuen and Chor become dazzled by the romance of Fleur's story and the ghost's glamorous beauty, but as their search for Chan reveals the truth - that Chan did not die with Fleur, frittered away his inheritance and now lives impoverished as a

movie extra A background actor or extra is a performer in a film, television show, stage, musical, opera, or ballet production who appears in a nonspeaking or nonsinging (silent) capacity, usually in the background (for example, in an audience or busy street ...

- they see the value of their own, honest relationship. The title refers to a rouge case Chan gave to Fleur, which she returns to the now-elderly, guilt-wracked man, before leaving the living world.

Cast

as Fleur *

as Chan Chen-Pang *

Alex Man Alex Man Chi-leung () is a Golden Horse Award-winning Hong Kong actor. Born in Hong Kong to Hakka parents, Alex Man became a television actor for ATV in the 1970s. He joined TVB Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) is a television bro ...

as Yuen *

Irene Wan Irene Wan Bik-ha (born Wen Bik-ha on 30 July 1966) is a Hong Kong actress, singer and producer. Her father was an officer of the Republic of China Army. In her early years, she was known as a "sexy beauty". After her marriage, Wan faded out of ...

as Shu-Hsien *

Emily Chu Emily Chu (; born 31 October 1960) is a Hong Kong people, Hong Kong film actress. Partial filmography * ''Jiu wan shi ba zhuan'' (1982) * ''Duel of the Masters'' (1983) * ''Funny Face'' (1985) * ''Heart of Dragon'' (1985) - Jenny * ''Millionai ...

as Ah Chor *

Kara Hui Kara Wai Ying-hung BBS (; born 3 February 1960) is a Hong Kong actress best known internationally for her roles in wuxia films produced by the Shaw Brothers Studio in the 1970s and 1980s. Wai has since portrayed a wide range of roles on screen ...

as Ghost *

Lau Kar-wing Lau Kar-wing (born 1944) is a Martial Artist, Hong Kong people, Hong Kong Chinese martial arts, martial arts film director, Stage combat, action choreographer and actor. Background Born in the Xinhui District of Jiangmen in Guangdong, People's R ...

as Movie Director *

Patrick Tse Patrick Tse Yin (born Tse Ka-yuk; 9 August 1936) is a Hong Kong actor, producer, screenwriter and director in Hong Kong cinema. Biography Patrick Tse began his acting career in the 1950s and remained active for the next 40 years. He is a versat ...

as Brothel Patron *

Ruby Wong Ruby Wong Cheuk-ling (born 7 September 1971) is a Hong Kong actress and former model. Filmography * '' Infernal Mission'' (2004) * '' Looking For Mr Perfect'' (2003) * '' PTU'' (2003) * '' Sai Kung Story'' (2003) * '' U-Man'' (2002) * ''Women ...

Jackie Chan Stunt Team The Jackie Chan Stunt Team (), also known as Jackie Chan's Stuntmen Association, is a group of stuntmen and martial artists who work alongside Jackie Chan. Founded in the 1970s, it initially included Hong Kong action stuntmen and martial artist ...

– extra/stunts

Release

The film received a Region 1

Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films." Criterion serves film and media scholars, cinep ...

home video Home video is prerecorded media sold or rented for home viewing. The term originates from the VHS and Betamax era, when the predominant medium was videotapes, but has carried over to optical disc formats such as DVD, Blu-ray and streaming me ...

release in 2022.

Awards

References

External links

* *
HK cinemagic entry
{{Stanley Kwan 1988 films 1988 romantic drama films 1980s fantasy drama films Hong Kong romantic drama films Hong Kong fantasy drama films 1980s Cantonese-language films Hong Kong romantic fantasy films Hong Kong ghost films Films about prostitution in Hong Kong Films set in 1934 Films set in 1987 Best Film HKFA Films directed by Stanley Kwan Films about opium 1980s Hong Kong films