This is a biopic about Yuan (Ruan) Ling-Wu, a movie star of the 30's in China. I've never seen any film she's been in, but I am very intrigued now. Maggie Cheung is excellent in this role. I feel Ms. Cheung is one of the best actresses in film, from any country. She is always interesting to watch. She plays Yuan sympathetically, passionately and solemnly. Looking at her in this role, looking at her pretty eyes, you can tell she understood this actress. At times, she looks flat out beautiful, especially when she smiles. I liked the style of this film, that the real Maggie Cheung comments on Yuan Ling-Wu during the film. Also commenting is the now departed contemporary of Ling-Wu, the very good actress Lilly Li (a few of her films have been recently released on DVD, and should be sought out). The film has a tragic air to it, as Ruan Ling-Wu committed suicide at the tender age of 25. Even if, like me, you have never heard of the actress, see this film. Ms. Cheung, with her smile, her sorrow, her anger all portrayed brilliantly through the film (she won Best Actress in Asia, richly deserved, just blows you away. Oh, and did I mention, she even dances in this film. A triumph, richly deserving of your time.

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'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.