The story of a love triangle between two performers in the Beijing Opera and the woman who comes between them. The story weaves the historical changes that took place during the early twentieth century in China from the warlord era through the Cultural Revolution, with the story of the two stage brothers and the beautiful woman who tore their friendship apart. Based on the novel by Lilian Lee. Cast includes Leslie Cheung, Zheng Fengyi, Gong Li. Screenplay by Lilian Lee and Lu Wei. Directed by Chen Kaige. This DVD version is the director's cut of the film and features widescreen presentation; In Chinese, with English subtitles.
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Born in late 80s, I’m certainly not the generation that’s fascinated by Chinese movies where there were all those masculine moves of Kung Fu, masters and “you killed my master!” type of endless revenge. Unlike me, my parents (in their early 50s) grew up watching Chinese movies by imitating Jackie Chan’s drunk actions at school, falling in love with Chow Yun-fat’s trench coats from mid 80s to mid 90s, the golden age of Hong Kong film industry and Farewell My Concubine is one of the classic movies in early 90s.
ReplyDeleteThe movie is about two Beijing opera actors and their lives through the chaotic period in modern China from 1920s. Overall, the movie seems to have a very exotic atmosphere with the color red, the opera costumes and songs that represent Chinese custom, at least to Americans or Europeans who have been seeking for the exotic image and magical power of the East, which used to be described as “Oriental World”, with the fair amount of distance. On the other hand, the movie isn’t completely “new” to me. Instead, I felt tremendous compassion towards the two main characters, Shalou and Deiyi. Like other Asian countries suffered from colonization, I’ve learned my country had to go through painful steps of social change in the 20th Century, under the guise of forced modernization that led to being colonized and post-war revolution. Especially to see how they had to please everyone from ordinary audience to Nationalists to Imperial Japanese army and to Communists in order to survive throughout a chaotic state of affairs for their passion for the Opera, I could associate them with what my grandmother generation had go through such a terrible ordeal in modern history, and somehow understood why Chinese government banned this movie in the country.
The director might have made this movie in order to sublimate the pain what China had into a beautiful piece of composite art. However, some parts of the movie were extreme to have more effect upon the viewers who have never experienced Chinese culture. Moreover, the unwanted homosexuality between Deiyi and other men must’ve been the interesting topic at that time, so Deiyi kept being described as homosexual more than it’s described in the original novel. It seems that director Chen had gone a little bit further than the original novel, in order to catch the eye of Europe and the US, based on what they’ve thought about Asia, as in their fantasy of the Oriental, and as a result, the Party didn’t like the idea of selling China’s agony at the world market so that they can be fascinated about someone’s unforgettable wound.
So I was thinking, would it be different if Director Chen more focused on reviving the original novel instead of making it extreme? If then, would Chinese government allow the showing in the country?
While I was watching this movie, I was able to see incompleteness and weakness of human being. Especially, the scene at the end of movie, in where all the people gathered together in the middle of town and red guards( 红卫兵) including ordinary people in town were condemning two main characters, Douzi and Shitou, struck me and led me into a few questions. In front of the crucial crisis and the threatening situation at the public execution, human being including Douzi and Shitou are just selfish and egotistic, and they simply want survive.
ReplyDeleteAs Chinese people have gone through Japanese imperialism and Cultural Revolution, they had to experience a series of upside-down events in their daily life. They had to deal with those collaborators and betrayers with Japanese after Japan withdrew; and, during the Cultural Revolution, they had to deny and rather condemn their own traditions, parents and teachers which were honored and respected in their history. It was inconceivable and unimaginable that actually Chinese people destroy and deny their own “culture” and “history” that have inherited for thousands years. As Chinese people were going through these events, they had to betray and resent with each other inevitably just like Douzi and Shitou did in the scene. They sometimes condemned their own families and teachers, and these events left disgust, hatred, schism, and detestation in people’s mind.
I think that each one of us is able to identify with Douzi and Shitou; especially, as a Korean, I found that Korea is so struggling with these problems—forgiveness and reconciliation. Instead of condemning and heartrending with one another due to what individuals have done in the past, it is time to forgive and reconcile with each other to get over the sorrow in hearts of people and look forward to the future.
I agree with Hwanny that the scene in front of the Red Guards was very surprising. Here, Shitou finally was forced to renounce Dieyi as his friend, and also was coerced into rejecting his love for Juxian.
ReplyDeleteI was extremely surprised to see that none of the three were executed on the spot. They were still able to live, despite having been exposed of all the "ill deeds" that they have committed. It's hard to believe that the mob of Red Guards would let these three live. I expected them to at least have been kept locked up in prison, if not shot immediately. Their complete freedom to walk around freely seems unrealistic, especially during this time period.
Thus, I wonder if this scene was shown to depict the dangers and the absurdity of the "trials" at all. Perhaps Chen Kaige did not include this for historical reference at all, but merely a way to bring the tension between the trio to a climax and to officially break the bonds between Shitou and his two 'lovers'.
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ReplyDeleteThis is one of the most interesting and rich film I've ever seen. Embedded with excellent opera performance, the history background, and the complicated relationships between the stage brothers and a prostitute. The wonderful opera performing the famous ancient Chinese history of the king of "Chor" throughout the era of Chinese imperial, National party, Japanese and CCP richly described the art and history of China. I am very amazed by how much "die yi" has committed to his relationship to "xi tou" even he knows how impossible it was for them to be together, and after that many times he was left alone and betrayed by "xi tou", he was still committed to this man from the beginning till the end. Like what happened in the story that they performed in their life, "die yi" ended her life to showed her love and commitment while they are performing at the last theme. The film also showed how helpless the Chinese people were during different periods of dominion that they had no choices but to followed the mass in order to survive, especially in the theme that "xi tou" betrayed "die yi" and his wife to clear cut their relationship in front of the red guards for staying alive.
ReplyDeleteI would like to respond to Jiye's question.
ReplyDeleteI think that each component of culture—literature, movie, newspaper, music, and so on—has different ways to be expressed by author, so I am sure that Chen kaige changed some story lines and characters when he actually film the movie based on the novel in order to maximize pleasure of audience watching the film. I know that homosexuality in China is still now a taboo subject to discuss in public. I do not think that was the only reason that the movie was banned. I think that homosexuality in the movie is not the only (and I think it is just part of the movie) subject that the Chen wanted to touch upon, but also the director carries different subjects such as Japanese imperialism and Cultural Revolution; this is why I think even if the director did not exaggerate the topic on homosexuality in his movie, I would say that the movie anyways wouldn’t have pass the censorship because there are other subjects that the CCP still does not want to let it be released.
One more thing that I want to mention is that the more I learn in this class the more I realize that the power of “culture”. People can be united by a song or a novel or movie; I believe that the CCP knows the power of mass since the PRC could be established by ordinary people who supported the CCP.