Yang ± Yin: Gender in Chinese Cinema (1998)

Director
Stanley Kwan

Main cast
Chang Cheh; Chen Kaige; Leslie Cheung; Hou Hsiao-hsien; Ang Lee

Genres
Documentary

Description
This highly personal film essay demonstrates that Chinese cinema has dealt with questions of gender and sexuality more frankly and provocatively than any other national cinema. Yang ± Yin examines male bonding and phallic imagery in the swordplay and kung fu movies of the '60s and '70s; homosexuality; same-sex bonding and physical intimacy; the continuing emphasis on women's grievances in melodramas; and the phenomenon of Yam Kim-Fai, a Hong Kong actress who spent her life portraying men on and off the screen.


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