Programmed July 2023

Stanley Kwan’s New Wave Melodramas

The exquisitely stylized, richly emotional films of Hong Kong New Wave auteur Stanley Kwan employ the conventions of melodrama with a rare sensitivity and sincerity. Empathetically attuned to the longings and struggles of women, his masterpieces—the sumptuous ghost story Rouge and the kaleidoscopic meta-biography Center Stage —offer tour-de-force showcases for Hong Kong cinema greats Anita Mui and Maggie Cheung, while his own identity as a gay man is given aching expression in the landmark queer romance Lan Yu . Awash in gorgeous mise-en-scène, these films entwine majestic melancholy with complex reflections on history, society, and politics.