Red Dust is a 1990 drama film directed by Ho Yim. A Hong Kong-Taiwanese co-production, the film follows the life of an independent-minded woman writer during the Japanese occupation who falls in love with a man collaborating with the Japanese.
Plot During the turbulent 1940s in Japanese-occupied Northeast China, Shen Shao-Hua is punished by her father for falling in love with a classmate. Locked away in the attic and surviving a suicide attempt, she channels her emotions into writing. Following her father's death, Shao-Hua grows into a modestly famous novelist, continuously working on her semi-autobiographical novel.
One day, she receives a letter from an admiring reader, Chang Neng-Tsai, a cultural official working for the Japanese. Despite learning of his background, Shao-Hua falls for him. Although Chang bears no blood debt, he often has to evade assassination attempts by nationalists, whom he secretly assists by helping them relocate. Meanwhile, Shao-Hua's childhood friend Yueh-Feng, distressed after fighting with her revolutionary boyfriend, comes to stay. The three spend a brief period of time together. On a day trip, they witness the brutality of Japanese soldiers against Chinese civilians at a checkpoint. Though Chang's travel papers spare them, his identity is exposed. Yueh-Feng, disgusted, sees him as a traitor. The outing ends in a bitter falling-out.
After Japan's surrender, the Nationalist government begins rounding up traitors. Neng-Tsai flees to a rural village and hides, posing as the partner of a local widow. Shao-Hua eventually finds him, but the sight of him living with another woman to survive devastates her. Heartbroken, she returns to live with Yueh-Feng, only for the past to catch up. Neighbors inform on them, and thugs raid the home. Yueh-Feng protects Shao-Hua and is injured in the process.
Their next-door neighbor, Yu, a quiet businessman who has long harbored unspoken feelings for Shao-Hua, steps in to care for her. Not long after, Yueh-Feng and her boyfriend are killed during an anti-government protest. Shao-Hua survives with Yu's support and later runs into a now impoverished Neng-Tsai. On the eve of the Communist victory, Yu trades his gold for two tickets on the last boat to Taiwan, hoping to flee the mainland with Shao-Hua. Instead, Shao-Hua gives her ticket to Neng-Tsai and watches him sail away. Yu, unwilling to abandon her, gives up his chance to escape and remains by her side.
Shao-Hua lives out her days in quiet obscurity. Forty years later, Neng-Tsai returns to the mainland in search of his lost love, only to find a copy of Shao-Hua's completed novel.
Cast Brigitte Lin as Shen Shao-Hua Chin Han as Chang Neng-Tsai Maggie Cheung as Yueh-Feng Josephine Koo as Shao-Hua's editor Richard Ng as Yu Ho Yim as Yueh-Feng's boyfriend
Release The film grossed HK$6,656,716 in Hong Kong, and NT$ 14,399,360 in Taiwan.
Awards 27th Golden Horse Awards, 1990 Best Picture Best Director (Yim Ho) Best Actress (Brigitte Lin) Best Supporting Actress (Maggie Cheung) Best Cinematography (Poon Hang-sang) Best Costume & Make-up Design (Edith Cheung) Best Art Direction (Edith Cheung & Jessinta Liu) Best Original Film Score (Shut Git-Wing) 27th Golden Horse Awards nominations, 1990 Best Film Best Director (Yim Ho) Best Screenwriter (Sanmao, Yim Ho) Best Supporting Actress (Maggie Cheung) Best Photography (Hang Sang Poon) Best Editing (Cheung-Kan Chow) Best Movie Soundtrack (Shi Jei-yong) Best Movie Song: "Rolling Red Dust" (Sarah Chen, Luo Ta-yu)
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