MOVIE REVIEW: Farewell My Concubine: A Real Tragedy

by Liu Yeqing

Farewell My Concubine is a masterpiece of Chen Kaige, one of the greatest of the fifth generation Chinese directors. The story, covering a span of 55 years, mainly deals with the legendary life story of Cheng Dieyi and Duan Xiaolou from 1929 to 1984.

The story started in the late Qing Dynasty. Little Bean, son of a prostitute, was sent to a theatrical troupe at the age of eight. Born with delicate and fine appearance, Little Bean was trained to act the role of a Dan, lady character in Peking opera show, and went through strict trainings to learn the basic skills. Little Stone, a fellow apprentice in the troupe, began to take care of him since the first day they met. They helped each other in difficulties when they grew up.

Years later, they costarred in the classical Peking opera Farewell My Concubine, which turned out a hit instantly and both of them became infamous stars. They were given stage names as Cheng Dieyi(Little Bean) and Duan Xiaolou(Little Stone). Dieyi hoped that they two will perform together all through their lives.

But his wish broke very soon as Xiaolou met and married a prostitute. Dieyi regard this as betrayal to their relationship and broke up with Xiaolou. However, they still helped each other out in emergencies until the advent of the Cultural Revolution. They slandered each other during the Criticism and Denunciation Meeting during campaigns against anti-socialism intellectuals in the sixties, which resulted in the death of Xiaolou's wife.

Many years later, both Dieyi and Xiaolou are already in their late sixties when they were rehearsing Farewell My Concubine in a theater. In the last scene of the film, Dieyi finished his last performance by cutting his throat with a real sword, quite as what concubine of the King of Chu did when her King lost the battle.

Farewell My Concubine is a milestone in Cheng Kaige's directing career. The plot is filled with the twists and turns. The shooting and music were beautiful; the lines were well-written and the acting was great, especially that of late Leslie Cheung. In the films, Leslie’s role was to star a lady character, Yuji, in the Peking Opera. His spotless performance even stunned some senior Peking Opera actors, rewarding him with the Best Actor Award by the Japanese Film Critics Society.

Ironically, just like its plots, road towards success for Farewell My Concubine was also full of twists and turns. Due to the film's involvement of Cultural Revolution, it was banned in cinemas and domestic film awards. As Chen Kaige is a mainlander, the film was also banned in Taiwan. And in Hongkong, it was regarded as a foreign film because Leslie Cheung was the only native actor in it, which barred it from winning Hong Kong Film Awards.

Leslie Cheung once sighed: "This is a tragedy for Chinese films. There shouldn't be so many restrictions imposed upon film making."

Thanks to the International Film Festival de Cannes, after winning the Golden Palm Award, the film was finally allowed to enter domestic cinemas.

The film was banned in Mainland China also for its indication of homosexuality. But Dieyi's affection for his Xiaolou is more of a reliance than homoerotic love. Since the time his mother left him in the troupe, Dieyi had nobody to depend on except Xiaolou. Xiaolou comforted him when he had been beaten up by the master and shoulder the blame for his trying to escape from the troupe and consoled him when he was abused by the eunuch. Their relationship has been built upon everyday care, which brought about kinship, brotherhood and love.

Farewell My Concubine isn't the only film that has encountered the dramatic fate of being barred from domestic cinemas first before drawing attention from exhibits on international silver screens.

In recent years, there have been more and more Chinese films dealing with stories in the 1960 and 1970s. To a certain extent, their choice of material can be attributed to their success in international film award academies. As some people in the film industry indicated, they have not been given much pressure from the domestic box office, as the overseas market has brought them a fat reward. In 1987, Zhang Yimou, a fifth generation director who directed the blockbuster Hero, made a name for himself by his masterpiece Red Sorghum. This film sparkled in the international market but was severely criticized at home. Now the sixth generation directors are faced with the same problem.

It is a tragedy for such a great tragic film.

How long will it be before great films are recognized without having to go abroad?

The Awards won by the film:
Golden Palm Award at the 46th International Film Festival de Cannes
Best Foreign Movie at the 51st US Golden Globe Award
Best Actor Award by the Japanese Film Critics Society in 1994 (Leslie Cheung)
Best Director Award by the Japanese Film Critics Society in 1994 (Chen Kaige)