Directed by Stanley Kwan

Directed by Stanley Kwan

3 Episodes

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.

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Directed by Stanley Kwan
  • Love unto Waste

    Episode 1

    Directed by Stanley Kwan • 1986 • Hong Kong
    Starring Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Chow Yun-fat, Elaine Jin

    Stanley Kwan’s sordid tale of lust and murder begins as three friends—beautiful model Billie (Irene Wan), up-and-coming starlet Ping (Elaine Jin), and singer Ling (Tsai Chin)—become involved with T...

  • Rouge

    Episode 2

    Directed by Stanley Kwan • 1987 • Hong Kong
    Starring Anita Mui, Leslie Cheung, Alex Man Chi-leung

    Cantopop superstars Anita Mui and Leslie Cheung display the androgynous magnetism that made them icons as doomed lovers in this emblematic film of Hong Kong’s Second New Wave, directed by pioneering...

  • Lan Yu

    Episode 3

    Directed by Stanley Kwan • 2001 • Hong Kong, China
    Starring Liu Ye, Hu Jun, Huatong Li

    Filmed in secret in Beijing, this tender gay romance by Stanley Kwan combines the timeless conventions of classic melodrama with a radically frank depiction of queer intimacy as it traces, over the course of y...