Chen Kaige-Ba wang bie ji (’Farewell My Concubine’) (1993)

Published by Ice Zero | Filed under Video

Critically acclaimed as one of the best films of the year, this seductive, award-winning triumph captivated moviegoers the world over. It’s the compelling tale of two lifelong friends unexpectedly caught in a passionate love triangle with the woman who comes between them! Academy Award®-nominated, FAREWELL MY CONCUBINE earned the Golden Globe as Best Foreign Film in addition to claiming Best Picture honors at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival! Packed with vivid, provocative imagery throughout, this sensual story of love and betrayal is the hot and exotic must-see movie of the year! Miramax







“Farewell, My Concubine” is a movie with two parallel, intertwined stories. It is the story of two performers in the Beijing Opera, stage brothers, and the woman who comes between them. At the same time, it attempts to do no less than squeeze the entire political history of China in the twentieth century into a three-hour time-frame. (http://imdb.com/title/tt0106332/plotsummary)







The panorama of 20th-century Chinese history swirls past two men, celebrated actors with their own decidedly specialized view of things. We first observe their lives as children at the Peking Opera training school, a brutal and demanding arena for future actors. While still in training, the effeminate Douzi is chosen to play the transvestite role and the masculine Shitou is chosen to play the royal role in a ritualized play about a king and a concubine. (–Robert Horton - Editorial Reviews - Amazon.com)







The actors are so good at this performance that they become identified with these roles for their entire careers; through World War II, through the takeover by the Communists, through the insanity of the Cultural Revolution, they are known for their famous parts. Leslie Cheung and Zhang Fengyi are powerful as the two men, and Gong Li (the beautiful leading lady of Raise the Red Lantern) plays the wife of the latter. (–Robert Horton - Editorial Reviews - Amazon.com)







The movie may be stronger on good old-fashioned melodrama than on profound conclusions, but boy, does it fill up the eyes. The director is Chen Kaige, one of the most talented members of China’s “Fifth Generation” of filmmakers, whose daring subject matter (and sometimes bald international ambitions) have often irked the Chinese government. Indeed, though Farewell My Concubine shared the top prize at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival and snagged two Oscar nominations, it had difficulty gaining official approval from China. (–Robert Horton - Editorial Reviews - Amazon.com)

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