{
 "id": "ep5ne2y625",
 "slug": "hes-a-woman-shes-a-man",
 "title": "He's a Woman, She's a Man (金枝玉叶)",
 "updated": "2026-11-01",
 "topic_path": [
  {
   "id": "culture",
   "label": "Arts and culture",
   "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture"
  },
  {
   "id": "culture.performance",
   "label": "Screen and stage",
   "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance"
  },
  {
   "id": "culture.performance.screen",
   "label": "Film and television",
   "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen"
  },
  {
   "id": "culture.performance.screen.films",
   "label": "Films and standalone screen works",
   "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films"
  },
  {
   "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works",
   "label": "Individual films by title and year",
   "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works"
  },
  {
   "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance",
   "label": "Comedy and romantic films (individual works)",
   "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance"
  },
  {
   "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-1990-to-1994",
   "label": "Comedies of 1990 to 1994",
   "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-1990-to-1994"
  },
  {
   "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-1990-to-1994.slapstick-black-and-family-comedies.alpha-symbols-to-j",
   "label": "Titles symbols to J",
   "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-1990-to-1994.slapstick-black-and-family-comedies.alpha-symbols-to-j"
  }
 ],
 "geo": [
  {
   "id": "geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance",
   "label": "China · 1946 to 2000: Comedy and romantic films (individual works)",
   "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance",
   "path": [
    {
     "id": "geo.chn",
     "label": "China",
     "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn"
    },
    {
     "id": "geo.chn.t1946",
     "label": "China · 1946 to 2000",
     "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t1946"
    },
    {
     "id": "geo.chn.t1946.culture",
     "label": "Arts and culture",
     "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t1946.culture"
    },
    {
     "id": "geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance",
     "label": "Screen and stage",
     "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance"
    },
    {
     "id": "geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance.screen",
     "label": "Film and television",
     "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance.screen"
    },
    {
     "id": "geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films",
     "label": "Films and standalone screen works",
     "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films"
    },
    {
     "id": "geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works",
     "label": "Individual films by title and year",
     "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works"
    },
    {
     "id": "geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance",
     "label": "Comedy and romantic films (individual works)",
     "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance"
    }
   ]
  }
 ],
 "excerpt": "He's a Woman, She's a Man (金枝玉叶) is a 1994 Hong Kong romantic comedy directed by Peter Chan, starring Leslie Cheung, Anita Yuen, and Carina Lau; a cross-dressing music-industry love triangle that won two Hong Kong Film Awards.",
 "snippet": "He's a Woman, She's a Man (金枝玉叶) is a 1994 Hong Kong romantic comedy directed by Peter Chan, starring Leslie Cheung, Anita Yuen, and Carina Lau; a cross-dressing music-industry love triangle that won two Hong Kong Film Awards.",
 "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-1990-to-1994.slapstick-black-and-family-comedies.alpha-symbols-to-j",
 "markdown": "# He's a Woman, She's a Man (金枝玉叶)\n\n**He's a Woman, She's a Man** (金枝玉叶) is a 1994 Hong Kong romantic comedy directed by Peter Chan Ho-sun, in which a young woman disguises herself as a man to enter a male-only singing audition and becomes entangled in a love triangle with the record producer and pop star she idolizes.<sup>[1](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/pe-event-2018-13-1-29.html)</sup> Produced by the United Filmmakers Organization (UFO) and starring [Leslie Cheung](https://www.edgepedia.org/leslie-cheung), Anita Yuen, Carina Lau, Eric Tsang, and Jordan Chan, it was released in Hong Kong on 23 July 1994 and earned HK$29,131,628 at the local box office, ranking eighth among 1994 Hong Kong films.<sup>[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109958)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[3](https://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_46e14d3201000732.html)</sup> At the 14th Hong Kong Film Awards it won Best Actress for Anita Yuen and Best Original Song for the theme \"Chase\" (追), performed by Leslie Cheung.<sup>[4](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews/hes_a_woman_shes_a_man.htm)</sup>\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Original title / English title | 金枝玉葉 / He's a Woman, She's a Man<sup>[5](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/hes-a-woman-shes-a-man)</sup> |\n| Director and writers | Peter Chan Ho-sun; screenplay by James Yuen (阮世生) and Lee Chi-ngai (李志毅)<sup>[1](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/pe-event-2018-13-1-29.html)</sup> |\n| Production | United Filmmakers Organization (UFO), Hong Kong, 1994; Cantonese, color 35mm<sup>[1](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/pe-event-2018-13-1-29.html)</sup> |\n| Release and runtime | 23 July 1994 (Hong Kong); 106 minutes per the Hong Kong Film Archive, 107 minutes per IMDb<sup>[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109958)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[1](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/pe-event-2018-13-1-29.html)</sup> |\n| Hong Kong box office | HK$29,131,628 over a 23 July to 19 September 1994 run, eighth place for the year<sup>[3](https://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_46e14d3201000732.html)</sup> |\n| Major awards | 14th Hong Kong Film Awards: Best Actress (Anita Yuen) and Best Original Song (\"Chase\"); nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor, among others<sup>[4](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews/hes_a_woman_shes_a_man.htm)</sup> |\n| Sequel | Who's the Woman, Who's the Man (金枝玉葉2), 1996, again directed by Peter Chan, with Anita Mui joining Cheung and Yuen<sup>[6](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/pe-event-2023-cheungmui-fs-film01.html)</sup> |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot\n\nSam Koo (Leslie Cheung) is a prominent music producer who groomed his girlfriend Rose ([Carina Lau](https://www.edgepedia.org/carina-lau)) into a pop superstar; to outsiders they are a golden couple, but their relationship has cooled.<sup>[7](https://www.litv.tv/movie/watch/VOD00101430)</sup> When Sam announces a talent search for a new male singer, Wing (Anita Yuen), a devoted fan of both Rose and Sam, disguises herself as a man to enter the contest and wins a place as Sam's protégé.<sup>[8](https://www.netflix.com/title/60036522)</sup> Wing moves into Sam's building, and the disguised newcomer disrupts the couple's relationship: Wing falls for Sam, Rose grows fond of Wing, and Sam, attracted to the person he believes is a young man, torments himself with the question of whether he is gay.<sup>[7](https://www.litv.tv/movie/watch/VOD00101430)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[9](https://cinema.eiga.com/movie/43700/)</sup>\n\nThe Hong Kong Film Archive summarizes the film's resolution through the declaration it gives Wing: \"whether man or woman, I only know that I like you,\" a line that carries the film's argument about love beyond gender categories.<sup>[10](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/tc/web/hkfa/pe-event-2018-13-1-29.html)</sup> According to a Chinese News Service account cited by Baidu Baike, this final confession line was not in the script; Leslie Cheung added it himself.<sup>[11](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/item/%E9%87%91%E6%9E%9D%E7%8E%89%E5%8F%B6/7875129)</sup>\n\n## Production and context\n\n**UFO and Peter Chan.** In 1991 Peter Chan co-founded the production company UFO (電影人製作有限公司) with [Eric Tsang](https://www.edgepedia.org/eric-tsang) and Chung Chun, gathering filmmakers including Cheung Chi-leung, Lee Chi-ngai, and James Yuen to make urban comedies distinct from the period costume films then dominating the market.<sup>[12](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/documents/5.-Exhibition-and-Screening/ProFolio/Profolio%20120-09-op-W3C-02_chi_accessible_final.pdf)</sup> In a span of about four years Chan directed six films there, among them *He's a Woman, She's a Man* (1994) and *Comrades, Almost a Love Story* (1996).<sup>[12](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/documents/5.-Exhibition-and-Screening/ProFolio/Profolio%20120-09-op-W3C-02_chi_accessible_final.pdf)</sup> Time Out placed the film within UFO's run of comedy-dramas about yuppie problems in the competitive Hong Kong market.<sup>[13](https://www.timeout.com/movies/hes-a-woman-shes-a-man)</sup>\n\n**Gender and sexuality.** The Hong Kong Film Archive describes the film as daringly touching on homosexuality and gender confusion, topics that remained taboo in 1990s Hong Kong.<sup>[1](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/pe-event-2018-13-1-29.html)</sup> Lisa Odham Stokes, author of a Hong Kong University Press monograph devoted to the film, characterizes it as a gender-stretching comedy that confronts social stereotypes of masculine females, male anxieties about homosexuality, and the limits of male femininity.<sup>[14](https://academic.oup.com/hong-kong-scholarship-online/book/23141)</sup> In a 2019 survey of cross-dressing in Chinese cinema, Anna Wing Bo Tso of The Hang Seng University of Hong Kong included the film among the key 1980s and 1990s Hong Kong works for studying both \"male femaling\" and \"female maling,\" arguing that [Judith Butler](https://www.edgepedia.org/judith-butler)'s theory of gender [performativity](https://www.edgepedia.org/performativity) helps explain such representations but must be read against Chinese cultural specificities such as the male/female impersonation tradition of traditional theater.<sup>[15](https://scholars.hsu.edu.hk/en/publications/representations-of-the-queer-the-screening-of-cross-dressing-in-c/)</sup> A Letterboxd reviewer, Jessica Yeung, notes that the film adapts the gender-reversal plot of Shakespeare's *Twelfth Night* into a contemporary Hong Kong setting.<sup>[16](https://letterboxd.com/jsyyeung/film/hes-a-woman-shes-a-man/)</sup>\n\n## Music\n\nLeslie Cheung had retired from the music scene when the film was made, so his on-screen singing, including the ballad theme \"Chase\" (追), gave fans a rare chance to hear him perform; the song remains one of his most popular.<sup>[1](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/pe-event-2018-13-1-29.html)</sup> \"Chase,\" with music by Dick Lee and lyrics by Xi Lin, won Best Original Song at the 14th Hong Kong Film Awards and was nominated in the same category at the 31st Golden Horse Awards in Taiwan.<sup>[4](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews/hes_a_woman_shes_a_man.htm)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[7](https://www.litv.tv/movie/watch/VOD00101430)</sup> The film's score is credited to Clarence Hui and Chiu Jun-king.<sup>[4](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews/hes_a_woman_shes_a_man.htm)</sup>\n\n## Reception and legacy\n\nThe film ran in Hong Kong cinemas for nearly two months, from 23 July to 19 September 1994, and its HK$29,131,628 gross placed it eighth for the year, behind titles such as *God of Gamblers II* and *Drunken Master II*.<sup>[3](https://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_46e14d3201000732.html)</sup> At the Hong Kong Film Awards it received eleven nominations and two wins, with Anita Yuen taking Best Actress; the lovehkfilm review counts nominations for Best Picture, Best Director (Peter Chan), Best Actor (Leslie Cheung), Best Supporting Actor and Best New Artist (Jordan Chan), Best Screenplay, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, and Best Original Film Score.<sup>[4](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews/hes_a_woman_shes_a_man.htm)</sup> Yuen's win was her second consecutive Best Actress award at the ceremony.<sup>[4](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews/hes_a_woman_shes_a_man.htm)</sup>\n\nA direct sequel, *Who's the Woman, Who's the Man* (金枝玉葉2), followed in 1996, produced by Golden Harvest and again directed by Peter Chan. It continues the story of Sam and Wing, now openly in love, whose world is upended when the megastar Fong Yim-mui, played by [Anita Mui](https://www.edgepedia.org/anita-mui) in a role modeled on her own reversed name, enters their lives.<sup>[6](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/pe-event-2023-cheungmui-fs-film01.html)</sup> The original film has remained in circulation: it appears on Netflix's catalog as a Hong Kong romantic comedy<sup>[8](https://www.netflix.com/title/60036522)</sup> and streams in Japan and South Korea on U-NEXT and wavve, though as of recent checks it was not available on any United States streaming service.<sup>[5](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/hes-a-woman-shes-a-man)</sup>\n\n## References\n\n1. [He's a Woman, She's a Man, Hong Kong Film Archive](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/pe-event-2018-13-1-29.html)\n2. [He's a Woman, She's a Man (1994), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109958)\n3. [1994 Hong Kong film box office table, Sina Blog](https://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_46e14d3201000732.html)\n4. [He's a Woman, She's a Man (金枝玉葉) (1994), lovehkfilm.com](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews/hes_a_woman_shes_a_man.htm)\n5. [He's a Woman, She's a Man streaming, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/hes-a-woman-shes-a-man)\n6. [Who's the Woman, Who's the Man, Hong Kong Film Archive](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/pe-event-2023-cheungmui-fs-film01.html)\n7. [金枝玉葉 He's a Woman, She's a Man, LiTV](https://www.litv.tv/movie/watch/VOD00101430)\n8. [He's a Woman, She's a Man, Netflix](https://www.netflix.com/title/60036522)\n9. [君さえいれば 金枝玉葉, 映画.com](https://cinema.eiga.com/movie/43700/)\n10. [金枝玉葉, Hong Kong Film Archive (Chinese)](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/tc/web/hkfa/pe-event-2018-13-1-29.html)\n11. [金枝玉叶 (1994年陈可辛执导的喜剧电影), Baidu Baike](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/item/%E9%87%91%E6%9E%9D%E7%8E%89%E5%8F%B6/7875129)\n12. [展影120期：星級影談——陳可辛, Hong Kong Film Archive](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/documents/5.-Exhibition-and-Screening/ProFolio/Profolio%20120-09-op-W3C-02_chi_accessible_final.pdf)\n13. [He's a Woman, She's a Man review, Time Out](https://www.timeout.com/movies/hes-a-woman-shes-a-man)\n14. [Peter Ho-Sun Chan's He's a Woman, She's a Man, Lisa Odham Stokes, Hong Kong University Press](https://academic.oup.com/hong-kong-scholarship-online/book/23141)\n15. [Tso, Anna Wing Bo (2019). Representations of the Queer: The Screening of Cross-dressing in Chinese. New Zealand Journal of Asian Studies 21(2)](https://scholars.hsu.edu.hk/en/publications/representations-of-the-queer-the-screening-of-cross-dressing-in-c/)\n16. [Review by Jessica Yeung, Letterboxd](https://letterboxd.com/jsyyeung/film/hes-a-woman-shes-a-man/)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of 1990 to 1994 › Titles symbols to J*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n",
 "same_as": [],
 "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/hes-a-woman-shes-a-man",
 "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/hes-a-woman-shes-a-man.md",
 "license": {
  "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0",
  "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license",
  "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.",
  "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0"
 },
 "credit": "\"He's a Woman, She's a Man (金枝玉叶)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/hes-a-woman-shes-a-man. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.",
 "credit_md": "\"[He's a Woman, She's a Man (金枝玉叶)](https://www.edgepedia.org/hes-a-woman-shes-a-man)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/hes-a-woman-shes-a-man](https://www.edgepedia.org/hes-a-woman-shes-a-man). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).",
 "credit_html": "\"<a href=\"https://www.edgepedia.org/hes-a-woman-shes-a-man\">He's a Woman, She's a Man (金枝玉叶)</a>\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), <a href=\"https://www.edgepedia.org/hes-a-woman-shes-a-man\">https://www.edgepedia.org/hes-a-woman-shes-a-man</a>. <a href=\"https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\">Edgepedia Community License 1.0</a>.",
 "speakable": "He's a Woman, She's a Man is a 1994 Hong Kong romantic comedy directed by Peter Chan, starring Leslie Cheung, Anita Yuen, and Carina Lau; a cross-dressing music-industry love triangle that won two Hong Kong Film Awards."
}