Rouge of the North

In this searing examination of women’s place in Chinese society at the turn of the 20th century, the impoverished yet beautiful Ying-ti idealistically enters into an arranged marriage with a crippled, wealthy man. Slowly worn down by her abusive mother-in-law and husband, she becomes embittered, addicted to opium, and cruelly lashes out at her own children. Elegantly directed, Tan’s screenplay eschews cloying characterization, and instead remains detached to see how wealth—and outdated social practices—corrupt. —Film Society of Lincoln Center