Rouge (originally Yanzhi Kou) is a romantic fantasy, Hong Kong style. In 1934, prostitute Anita Mui kills herself so that she can be united with the spirit of her lover Leslie Cheung (both stars were popular singers at the time of the film's initial release). Cheung was supposed to join Mui in a suicide pact, but when the girl enters the Afterworld, her beau is nowhere to be found. Fifty years later, Mui returns to earth, placing an ad in the newspaper to find out what has happened to Cheung. The exquisitely ironic and poignant ending will not be revealed here.