Amid the opulent teahouses of 1930s Hong Kong, a humble courtesan and the wayward scion of a wealthy family fall in love and embrace death by suicide pact. Fifty years later, her ghost returns to find him, drawing a young contemporary couple into her quest to rekindle a passion that may be as illusory as time itself.
Acting
Anita Mui's ghostly poise—every gesture holds fifty years of waiting
Cinematography
1930s reds bleed into 1980s neons, time itself becomes character
Costume
Fleur's qipao: a ghost clinging to the only self she knew
Director
Stanley Kwan Kam-Pang
Anita Mui Yim-Fong
Fleur
Leslie Cheung
Chan Chen-Pang
Alex Man Chi-Leung
Yuen
Emily Chu Bo-Yee
Chor
Irene Wan
Shu-Hsien
Tam Sin-Hung
Chen-Pang's Mother
Chu Shui-Tong
Chen-Pang's Father
Wong Yu
Ho Hsi
Lau Kar-Wing
Movie Director
Kara Hui Ying-Hung
Actress Portraying Ghost
Patrick Tse Yin
Brothel Patron
Huang Pa-Ching
Fortune Teller
Ruby Wong Cheuk-Ling
Courtesan
Wai Ching
Boss of Antique Shop
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Anita Mui and Leslie Cheung were HK pop royalty; casting them as doomed lovers felt almost prophetic after both died young.
The film subtly critiques 1980s materialism—Fleur's ghost wanders a Hong Kong that's forgotten the opulence she died escaping.
HK
