Ruan Lingyu

I stumbled on a DVD copy of the film from the local library, but before that I never heard of this film. Stanley Kwan also directed Rouge, a film I enjoyed and liked very much, and that prompted my decision to make the time investment to watch it.

Center Stage, aka Yuen Ling-Yuk (Cantonese pronunciation of the main character) or Ruan Ling-Yu (the mandarin equivalent) is a slow film, a period piece focused on the life and premature death of an actress in the 30's in China. As a kid growing up in Asia several decades ago I never watched B/W silent films, so Yuen was never known to me, until now.

It was a slow film, but well acted and researched. I enjoyed the depiction of Shanghai in the 30's and the personification of various people in the entertainment circle. This film is obviously not for everyone. For the selected few with the interest or the cultural background, it is a film worth watching. If nothing else, it is a cultural lesson on the filming business and a snapshot of the Chinese society in 1930. Seeing some big name actors in it, doing what they do best, is a bonus.

I saw Stanley Kwan's "Centre Stage" ("Yuen Ling-yuk") at a university series "New East Asian Cinema" on February 27, 2006. The film is a biography of Ruan Ling-yu (1910-1935), a silent film star of Chinese silent films.

The film describes the life and meteoric rise to fame of young Shanghai actor Ruan Ling-yu (played well by Maggie Cheung), who from the age of 16 till her death at age 24, was featured, often in a lead role, in over a dozen films. She was involved in extramarital affairs with two men and eventually the double standards that women suffer by catch up with her (but not with the married suitors), and dogged media slander her reputation. With her honor at stake, she sees no recourse but to commit suicide, and does so with an overdose of barbiturates. According to the wikipedia entry about her (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruan_Ling_Yu), "her funeral procession was reportedly three miles long, with three women committing suicide during it."

The film cleverly goes back and forth in time, and includes excellent interludes from some of Ruan Ling-yu's films. These snippets, as well as the local color we see in 1930s Shanghai, reveal a vivacious setting in Chinese history that I would enjoy learning more about, including seeing some of the period cinema.

Not previously knowing anything about Ruan Ling-yu, I of course cannot vouch for the realism of the portrayal, but the acting of Maggie Cheung revealed a strong, magnetic, kind, talented, determined, and yet slightly aloof woman who enjoys many admirers. The other characters were not nearly as well developed, but that is understandable with the focus being on Ruan Ling-yu.

I wonder if Kwan could have set the stage, so to speak, a bit more economically, and found the first half to two thirds rather slow. But, without giving anything away, the ending (of course we know that suicide is the true history) is calmly dramatic and captivating. The manner in which Cheung shows the actor saying goodbye to her close friends, who don't know that this is in fact her farewell, is touching - I wonder if this is how it happened. A film worth watching and which I would like to see again - 7.5 stars out of 10.

--Dilip Feb. 27, 2006

I'm a novice at Chinese history, especially in the area of periods of film, and, being American, I'm particularly fascinated by it and comparing it to period pieces set in the 1930's US (a la "Cat's Meow" or "Miller's Crossing"). I was particularly taken with Centre Stage's attention to detail in period dress, music, and movie deal-making among the industry. As opposed to American movies focusing of stars/starlets' merciless climb to the top of the industry, Maggie Cheung plays Ruan as a kind, clever, and talented actress whose versatility and assertiveness helps her move beyond pigeonholing by the industry to play a wide range of parts--revolutionary, new woman, peasant-girl.

One part it seems which has been overlooked in the few reviews I've read is how this image of feminism illustrates China's version of liberation. Cheung plays Ruan as both a feminist in charge of her career, as well as a woman who is in control of her scandalous affair with Lawrence Ng's character. The difference between her and him being that men are understood to have concubines and are forgiven for the indecency, while Maggie's career is ruined (though she never apologizes for it in any way). Traditional roles still trump profession in 1930's China, but the sadness of it all being retold shows a strong Ruan overcoming every possible trap--losing a career over an affair, especially--and maintaining her desires for success.

For Cheung's performance, it never wavered. I was a big fan of hers in "Irma Vep" and she was just a strong in this role playing Ruan. Effortless shifts between emotion ("So, you're showing me your true face," her lover says as she blows smoke in his face obstinately, then switches to a kindly-wife smile--is she practicing her role in the movie, or is that really her?), graceful poise courtesy of the era before slouching was cool, private display of emotion, and elegant role-play as mistress and ex-wife with Tony Leung.

I'd have to know more about the history of Ruan to know if this is an accurate portrayal of her life, but the film-making style of inter-cutting Cheung playing her in the 30's while interviews with Ruan's colleagues from that time as they are interviewed by the director of the movie is a fascinating way to present her history. Is it a bio-pic? Is it a historical fiction? Is it a retrospective? It's all and more.

The director should not have mixed the drama part and the documentary part, which just made the film a narrative mess. The movie itself and a separate documentary would have made the film much more mature. Of course, most parts of the film are just based on some speculations, and this could simply be added by some inter-titles or voice-overs.

This story of a young beautiful acclaimed actress from the 30s could have been so much more. Unfortunately it is a bit of an overlong mess which mixes a somewhat boring documentary approach with 90s interviews and vintage reels, with a rather gripping and stylish account of love, society bias and deceit. Had to fight not to fall asleep during the dull moments