Kwan's camera is elegantly direct. His characters illuminate this beautiful romance. Anita Mui plays Fleur with great balance. She walks the jagged pathway of her fate with an innocent confidence. This is one of the better Hong Kong DVD releases.
Colors remain vital in various lighting circumstances.
The removable English subtitles are reasonably coordinated with the dialogue and appear over the picture. The music sounds pretty good in Rouge, but it's quite bright. Surround information is limited. If you enjoy Rouge , check out another Stanley Kwan title, Center Stage , starring the incandescent Maggie Cheung as real-life actress Ruan Ling Yu . It's also available as a Hong Kong import from Media Asia.