This film follows two Beijing opera stars (stage names Cheng and Duan) from their youth in 1924 to a final performance in 1977. Cheng is somewhat effeminate and plays women in the performances, most notably the woman in the traditional opera "Farewell My Concubine." Cheng is gay and in love with Duan who is classically masculine; Duan's feelings for Cheng do not go beyond friendship. Things between the two go along well until Juxian enters the picture as Duan's lover and subsequent wife. The story revolves around the complex emotional interplay between these three, played out against dramatic historical events.
The history of China in the years covered would require a shelf full of books, but this movie concentrates on three eras: "The Warlord Era" in the 1920s, the Japanese occupation of Beijing during WWII (and its aftermath), and the Cultural Revolution during the Mao era. The interweaving of the personal stories with the themes of the opera "Farewell My Concubine," together with the historical events, is cleverly done. The telling of this epic runs to 171 minutes on the DVD.
In keeping with its operatic theme this movie has an overture that sets the tone and piques your curiosity about what is to come. This sequence seemed artificial to me until I understood its intent.
Most everyone will be impressed with the sumptuous color cinematography. The opera scenes are impressively filmed and, while I could appreciate the artistry involved, being primarily attuned to Western culture prevented my being captivated on an emotional level as I was, for example, by the operatic scenes in "Amadeus." Cheng's singing sounded more like the harsh screeching of a cat than anything that would engage me. The atonal music and highly stylized acting in the operas were interesting as artistic phenomena of a foreign culture, but it would take significant exposure for me to ever truly enjoy such, if that were even possible.
The extent to which this movie offers history lessons is not clear to me, nor is it clear how much is intended. During the 1920s the focus is on Cheng and Duan's training as young boys under the tutelage of a sadistic taskmaster. The child abuse is so graphic that some may be tempted to avert their eyes. Was the brutal treatment of the boys a symbol of the brutality of the era? I don't know. The political pressures of the Cultural Revolution must have been extreme in order to provoke the personal denunciations we see toward the end.
One thing I found odd was that, while the characters must be at least sixty years old by the end, they look like they are still in their 30s.
I admire this movie for its ambition and could appreciate it on an intellectual and artistic basis, but its epic sweep and cultural differences kept me at a distance.
The history of China in the years covered would require a shelf full of books, but this movie concentrates on three eras: "The Warlord Era" in the 1920s, the Japanese occupation of Beijing during WWII (and its aftermath), and the Cultural Revolution during the Mao era. The interweaving of the personal stories with the themes of the opera "Farewell My Concubine," together with the historical events, is cleverly done. The telling of this epic runs to 171 minutes on the DVD.
In keeping with its operatic theme this movie has an overture that sets the tone and piques your curiosity about what is to come. This sequence seemed artificial to me until I understood its intent.
Most everyone will be impressed with the sumptuous color cinematography. The opera scenes are impressively filmed and, while I could appreciate the artistry involved, being primarily attuned to Western culture prevented my being captivated on an emotional level as I was, for example, by the operatic scenes in "Amadeus." Cheng's singing sounded more like the harsh screeching of a cat than anything that would engage me. The atonal music and highly stylized acting in the operas were interesting as artistic phenomena of a foreign culture, but it would take significant exposure for me to ever truly enjoy such, if that were even possible.
The extent to which this movie offers history lessons is not clear to me, nor is it clear how much is intended. During the 1920s the focus is on Cheng and Duan's training as young boys under the tutelage of a sadistic taskmaster. The child abuse is so graphic that some may be tempted to avert their eyes. Was the brutal treatment of the boys a symbol of the brutality of the era? I don't know. The political pressures of the Cultural Revolution must have been extreme in order to provoke the personal denunciations we see toward the end.
One thing I found odd was that, while the characters must be at least sixty years old by the end, they look like they are still in their 30s.
I admire this movie for its ambition and could appreciate it on an intellectual and artistic basis, but its epic sweep and cultural differences kept me at a distance.