Anita Mui’s 10 best films ranked: from Rouge to July Rhapsody, Hong Kong actress’ greatest performances
- In a 15-year film career Mui played some memorable roles, including a mafia boss in A Better Tomorrow III and a martial arts maestro in Justice, My Foot!
- The co-stars she appeared with include Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Stephen Chow, Maggie Cheung, Tong Leung Ka-fai and Chow Yun-fat
Canto-pop singer Anita Mui Yim-fong had record-breaking album sales, but her cinematic career deserves equal praise, if not more.
From portraying a plaintive prostitute who commits suicide after her lover’s family object to their relationship in Rouge (1987) to playing a mafia boss in A Better Tomorrow III (1989) to a martial arts maestro who saves her husband from trouble in Justice, My Foot! (1992), she mastered both comedic and tragic roles with aplomb.
10. Executioners (1993)
Director: Johnnie To Kei-fung
9. Au Revoir, Mon Amour (1991)
Director: Tony Au Ting-ping
8. Drunken Master II (1994)
Directors: Jackie Chan, Lau Kar-leung
7. My Father Is A Hero (1995)
Director: Corey Yuen
6. A Better Tomorrow III (1989)
In this acclaimed sequel, Mui plays the girlfriend of a mafia boss who saves two weapon smugglers, played by Chow Yun-fat and Tony Leung Ka-fai, from danger in Vietnam. Mui’s portrayal of a righteous, smart and courageous heroine eclipses the performances of her male co-stars.
5. Kawashima Yoshiko (1990)
Director: Eddie Fong Ling-ching
Mui plays the eponymous historical figure in this biopic, which required her to wear a manly military uniform and allowed her androgynous persona to shine. Her portrayal of a cunning Qing dynasty’s princess-turned traitor, who meets her ignominious demise after the end of the second Sino-Japanese war, captivated audiences and critics alike.
4. Justice, My Foot! (1992)
Director: Johnnie To
The success of this period film, which earned HK$50 million at the Hong Kong box office, showed the comedic talents of Mui, who plays a martial arts maestro and wife of Stephen Chow Sing-chi’s persuasive lawyer. Together, the couple beat all the odds to bring justice to a woman determined to avenge the wrongful death of her husband.
Mui’s role as a strong woman whose husband cowers in front of her further cemented her status as an equal to “king of comedy” Chow, if not a more bankable movie star.
3. Eighteen Springs (1997)
Director: Ann Hui On-wah
Set in Shanghai in the 1930s, this adaptation of Eileen Chang’s eponymous novel follows the tragic fate of two sisters, played by Mui and Jacklyn Wu Chien-lien. Because of a series of unfortunate events, both have to give up the loves of their lives to be with men they don’t love out of expediency.
Mui’s performance as the resentful elder sister who ruins the life of her younger sister earned her the best supporting actress prize at both the Hong Kong Film Awards and Golden Bauhinia Awards.
2. July Rhapsody (2002)
Director: Ann Hui On-wah
Mui plays the wife of Jacky Cheung Hok-yau’s Chinese language teacher, who has an affair with his student (Karena Lam Ka-yan). Mui’s mesmerising portrayal of a melancholic woman, who also had an affair with her teacher when she was at school, won her the best actress award at the Changchun Film Festival in China. It was her last screen performance before she died from cervical cancer in 2003.
1. Rouge (1987)
Director: Stanley Kwan Kam-pang
Adapted from the eponymous novel by Lilian Lee Pik-wah, this classic Hong Kong film stars Mui as prostitute Yu Fa, who makes a suicide pact with her lover Chan Chun-pong, played by Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing, after his family objects to their relationship. While she dies, Chan survives, leaving her to roam the netherworld looking for her lover.
Despite it being her debut performance in a feature-length film, Mui’s portrayal of an elegant and melancholic ghost won her best actress awards at the Hong Kong Film Awards, Taipei’s Golden Horse Awards, and the Asia Pacific Film Festival.
