Loading ...Farewell My Concubine is a film adaptation of Lilian Lee’s novel. It is a heartrending and unique Guy’s love story revolving around the dramatic and colorful life in the Peking Opera. The story of Farewell My Concubine spans 50 years, from the early parts of the 20th century until the Cultural Revolution. The film examines the changes in Chinese society through the lenses of the Peking Opera.
Farewell My Concubine is directed by Chen Kaige. The lead roles are portrayed by Leslie Cheung as Douzi/Cheng Dieyi, Fengyi Zhang as Shitou/Duan Xialou and Gong Lin as Juxian. Due to its superb cast and unique story line, the movie has won many awards. This is the only Chinese language film to win the Cannes Palme d’Or.
Farewell My Concubine is set in the lavish yet harsh setting of the Peking Opera. The viewers are treated with elaborate scenes of the theater life and the contrastingly harsh training of opera actors. The scene begins in the end of the Cultural Revolution. The spotlight shines on two actors on the stage. The first one playing the male lead, the King, while the other, has the female lead, the concubine. They are Cheng Dieyi and Duan Xiaolou.
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The scene cuts to 1924. The movie recalls how Cheng Dieyi and Duan Xialou reached their stellar status in the opera world. Cheng Dieyi and Duan Xialou did not have a happy childhood. Cheng Dieyi, known as Douzi as a child was initially refused admittance for opera training due to a birth defect, a superfluous finger. However, his mother cuts the extra finger and returns to the opera academy. After signing the contract, the mother leaves Douzi at the academy.
Douzi meets another guy in the academy, Shitou. Shitou would eventually become Duan Xialou later in the film. During their childhood, they are trained as opera actors. Delicate and rather feminine, Douzi was trained to play female roles, while the manly Shitou was trained to play male roles. Shitou and Douzi eventually play the role of a King and his concubine. They were so good that they have been identified with the roles for their entire career. They also took different stage names with Douzi taking Chend Dieyi and Shitou as Duan Xialou.
Dieyi also took his female role to heart when he fell in love with Xialou. However, Xialou is strictly heterosexual and marries a famous courtesan from the House of Flowers, Juxian. Tragedy begins as the social and political upheaval in China begins. The main characters try to survive various political events such as the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Japanese Occupation, the beginning of the communist regime and the Cultural Revolution.
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During the Cultural Revolution, the opera is criticized for its feudalistic background. The characters met a tragic end, not unlike the ending of the opera, Farewell My Concubine. Shitou was made to confess that Douzi performed for the Japanese and may have been involved in a homosexual relationship. Douzi, retaliates by confessing that Juxian, Shitou’s wife was a courtesan. Juxian commits suicide, while Douzi after performing his role in the opera which made them famous also commits suicide.
Additional Information:
Director: Chen Kaige
Chinese Name: 霸王别姬
Casting: Leslie Cheung, hang Fengyi, Gong Li
Produced by: Hsu Feng, Donald Ranvaud
Written by : Lilian Lee, Lei Bik-Wa, Lu Wei
Music by : Zhao Jiping
Cinematography : Gu Changwei
Editing by : Pei Xiaonan
Running time : 171 minutes
Country : China
Language : Mandarin
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