MSPIFF at Rochester: Mon, 4/20, 7:30pm
Hong Kong master Ann Hui vividly brings the life of pioneering 20th century female novelist and poet Xiao Hong to the screen. Hui’s lavishly shot period piece shifts perspective, narrators, and time periods freely as it chronicles Xiao Hong’s struggles—an oppressive family, an arranged marriage, a fiery affair with fellow writer Xiao Jun, and her passion, compulsion and talent for writing—until her death at age 30 in 1942. Tang Wei (Lust, Caution, Blackhat) plays Xiao Hong with headstrong grace and subtle heartbreak.