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Asia Society presents Stanley Kwan: Ladies Man, a seven-film retrospective featuring the Hong Kong filmmaker in person for introductions and post-film discussions.
Stanley Kwan is one of the most celebrated figures in Hong Kong cinema. He emerged as part of the “Second New Wave”, serving as an assistant director for the likes of Ann Hui and Patrick Tam before making his directorial debut with Women in 1985. Aptly titled, the film would kickstart a slew of acclaimed works featuring engaging, multi-dimensional female characters– a tendency Kwan has attributed to the dominant influence of his mother and sisters in his upbringing. One of the few Asian directors of his generation to openly identify as gay, Kwan’s conscious attention to gender roles and sexuality makes him a unique figure in a national cinema widely known for its machismo.
This retrospective features the six narrative features Kwan made between 1985 and 1994’s Red Rose White Rose; plus Lan Yu (2001), the heart-rending queer adaptation that proved Kwan can portray male characters with just as much sensitivity and depth as his women. Demonstrating a flair for highly controlled mise-en-scene; genre competence stretching from screwball to neo-noir to melodrama; and an ability to draw the best out of movie stars like Maggie Cheung, Anita Mui, and Joan Chen, Kwan ranks with classical auteurs of the highest order, with modernist sensibilities to spare.
Organized by Inney Prakash, Curator of Film, Asia Society.