This film is a biopic/homage about/to Ruan Ling-Yu, China's first film star. Ruan was a silent film actress in the late 1920s and early 1930s in Shanghai, China's enter of film production before World War II. She was in films such as The Goddess (AKA The Prostitute), Small Toys (AKA Gimmicks), and The New Woman. Ruan was a wonderful actress (see my review of The Goddess), and according to the film, somewhat of a rebel against societal convetions.

She killed herself at the age of 25 because of tabloid criticism of her life. She never married though she had two lovers in her life. At the time of her death, she was being sued for "adultery" and other "crimes" by her first lover, whom she had left. She was also hounded by the press because she had appeared in the film The New Woman, wherein she portrayed a woman who commits suicide, at least partially because of the press. This film was apparently based on a true story about another actress.

Ruan's flamboyant life, as well as her early tragic death, must have contributed to her fame as much her talent during life, as the film points out.

In The Actress, Ruan is portrayed by Maggie Cheung, in a fabulous performance. The film is largely a recreation of events in Ruan's life, starting in the late 20s and continuing up to her death. The film also mixes in a few interviews with people who knew Ruan, as well as actresses Maggie Cheung and Carina Lau (who plays Lily Lee, a contemporary of Ruan's who is also interviewed in the film). There are also clips from surviving films in which she starred, as well as recreations of scenes from films that have, sadly, been lost.

There is certain artificiality to this film, and I am curious as to how accurate it was. Nevertheless, the performances in the film are superb and the film tells a highly compelling story. It was eerie to watch Maggie Cheung recreate a scene from The Goddess, only to see that followed by the scene itself. Maggie's recreation is accurate down to every motion, despite the fact that there is no strong resemblance between the two actresses.

This film is also interesting for the historical period in which it was set, as conflict between China and Japan flared, as well as internal conflicts between the Nationalists and Communists. Various film studios took various positions on these issues, as depicted in this film. Apparently, the Linghei studio for whom Ruan worked took a generally more radical, anti-Japanese, pro-Communist position. In addition, some of the films they made appear to have contained what would now be called feminist themes, and this is explicitly acknowledged in The Actress.

Besides its informational content, this film also tells an interesting story about an interesting woman. In some ways Ruan Ling-Yu was ahead of her time, but sadly not so ahead of it that she was able to ignore public opinion about herself. In the film she is also a charming and giving person, far removed from the selfishness that characterizes all too many modern stars. One thing I would have liked to have learned more about was Ruan's adopted daughter. It seems to me that it must have been unusual for a single woman to adopt a child in that day and age (even now it is not all that common, at least in America).

This is one Hong Kong's artier films, though this is no surprise coming from a director like Stanley Kwan, who also directed Rouge, another arty, romantic film. It comes together fairly seemlessly, though it often feels as much like fiction as documentary, perhaps intentionally. After all, it is hard to not mythologize someone who made such an impact on film and who died in such a tragic way at such a young age.

Watch The Actress, and then do your best to find a Ruan Ling-Yu film, which will probably be difficult. However, if her other films are as good as the only one I've seen, The Goddess, then you will not be dissapointed.