This feels like a film specifically designed to be my favorite movie of all time. Like you’re telling me one of my favorite actresses (Maggie Cheung) starred in a film about my favorite topic (the mental toll of fame) in my favorite time period (the early years of filmmaking)??? I hate anyone who’s seen this and didn’t recommend it to me >:(

This feels like a film specifically designed to be my favorite movie of all time. Like you’re telling me one of my favorite actresses (Maggie Cheung) starred in a film about my favorite topic (the mental toll of fame) in my favorite time period (the early years of filmmaking)??? I hate anyone who’s seen this and didn’t recommend it to me >:(

"don't try to cry or repent...now that things have reached such a stage."

i think i will think about this film for a long time.

"don't try to cry or repent...now that things have reached such a stage."

i think i will think about this film for a long time.

was confused but now me thinks good

was confused but now me thinks good

Movie 2/3: China/Hong KongThis was a really bold, yet really long take on something that I really want to talk about in my book. A lot of early cinema from China is completely list and all we can do is listen to interviews and firsthand accounts, but we can never fully know who the people in these movies are, especially if they’re forgotten. This film attempts to piece together a fractured tapestry of a tragic star, taken from us at the height of her popularity, then forced into ovscurity due to bad preservation. This film lets her live on despite the loss of not only the person, but a decent chunk of the art she created. A beautiful fill, even if it is 30 minutes too long.88/100

Movie 2/3: China/Hong KongThis was a really bold, yet really long take on something that I really want to talk about in my book. A lot of early cinema from China is completely list and all we can do is listen to interviews and firsthand accounts, but we can never fully know who the people in these movies are, especially if they’re forgotten. This film attempts to piece together a fractured tapestry of a tragic star, taken from us at the height of her popularity, then forced into ovscurity due to bad preservation. This film lets her live on despite the loss of not only the person, but a decent chunk of the art she created. A beautiful fill, even if it is 30 minutes too long.88/100

I really love the structure of this film.

Telling the story of silent film actress Ruan Lingyu, Kwan segments the film into dramatized segments and filmed conversations between himself and his crew and stars along with interviews with those who knew Ruan. Recreations of films that Ruan had been in - some long lost to time - along with actual photo and film stills of Ruan and her work. It’s beautiful and moving, fragmenting the fiction that tends to come with the act of recreation with the first-hand accounts of people who lived alongside Ruan. Maggie Cheung’s opening statements with Kwan about Ruan’s life and career at the beginning of the film only serve to make Cheung-as-Ruan more powerful.

Center Stage understands the fictive element of film, even when trying to capture the truth, and doesn’t shy away from it. It’s bold and striking, especially with the way Kwan uses lighting in the film.

I really love the structure of this film.

Telling the story of silent film actress Ruan Lingyu, Kwan segments the film into dramatized segments and filmed conversations between himself and his crew and stars along with interviews with those who knew Ruan. Recreations of films that Ruan had been in - some long lost to time - along with actual photo and film stills of Ruan and her work. It’s beautiful and moving, fragmenting the fiction that tends to come with the act of recreation with the first-hand accounts of people who lived alongside Ruan. Maggie Cheung’s opening statements with Kwan about Ruan’s life and career at the beginning of the film only serve to make Cheung-as-Ruan more powerful.

Center Stage understands the fictive element of film, even when trying to capture the truth, and doesn’t shy away from it. It’s bold and striking, especially with the way Kwan uses lighting in the film.