Center Stage

After a string of memorable performances as strong-willed, beautiful, and virtuous women, the actress Ruan Lingyu committed suicide in 1935, at the age of twenty-four. Stanley Kwan’s innovative film goes far beyond the traditional biopic to offer up several strata of “reality,” “reenactment,” and “cinema.” Detailed re-creations of scenes from the actress’s too-short life combine with documentary interviews of her contemporaries, actual footage from her existing silent films, and even discussions between star Maggie Cheung, Kwan, and other cast members. Like a Russian doll, Center Stage reveals a Modernist take on the ways in which cinema and culture create an actress, a legend, and a woman.