Shades of Silk
Ombres de Soie
Long out of circulation, this evocatively elliptical tale of Sapphic yearning in 1930s Shanghai – newly restored – has been hailed as a major rediscovery.
Lysanne and Marlène (the latter played by writer/director Mary Stephen herself) were best friends in high school; perhaps, even then, their bond was underpinned by a desire for and fear of greater intimacy. Time has since separated the two women – both originally from Shanghai, Lysanne is now living in Paris and Marlène in Massachusetts, where she’s studying at Wellesley – but they pine for one another still, each in their own way and to tragic ends.
Stephen’s darkly dreamy and remarkably assured debut – made when she was just 24 years old – was conceived as a loving counterpoint to Marguerite Duras’s India Song, with her similar cross-cultural narrative instead unfolding from an Asian woman’s perspective. For decades, the Hong Kong–born Stephen has primarily been known for her work as an editor, but the 2025 restoration of this 1978 treasure has stirred up overdue appreciation for her directorial oeuvre, spanning fiction and documentary and characterised by an exploration of colonial identity and cultural memory.
“A visually sumptuous and delicate tale … The film is carried by elegant voiceover and entrancing cinematography that gracefully relate how memories and regrets linger.” – Film Comment
Tickets
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