Farewell My Concubine is a 1993 Chinese-Hong Kong epichistorical drama film directed by Chen Kaige, starring Leslie Cheung, Gong Li and Zhang Fengyi. Adapted for the screen by Lu Wei, based on the novel by Lilian Lee, the film is set in politically tumultuous 20th-century China, from the early days of the Republic of China to the aftermath of the Cultural Revolution. It chronicles the troubled relationships between two lifelong friends, the Peking opera actors Cheng Dieyi (Cheung) and Duan Xiaolou (Zhang), and Xiaolou's wife Juxian (Gong).
The film's themes include identity confusion and blurred lines between real life and the stage, portrayed by the revered opera actor Dieyi, whose unrequited love for Xiaolou persists throughout. The film also addressed themes of political and societal disturbances in 20th-century China, which is typical of Chinese Fifth Generation cinema.
A few weeks after its release in China, the politburo demanded changes to be made to the film due to unconventional depictions of traditional values and political decisions. While allowing a premiere in Beijing, the government objected to the representation of homosexuality, the suicide of a leading character, and a depiction of the turmoil of the 1960s.[3]
The film was approved for further exhibition in September 1993, less than a year after its original release. Upon its re-release it became clear the Chinese censors had made numerous cuts, removing 14 minutes. Chinese officials felt that a re-release, as opposed to maintaining a full ban, would silence an ever-growing international backlash and also help their bid to host the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2000.[4][5]
Farewell My Concubine is considered one of the landmark films of the Fifth Generation movement that brought Chinese film directors to world attention.[6][7] In 2005, the film was selected as one of the "100 Best Films in Global History" by Time magazine.
Plot
A young boy, Douzi, is abandoned by his prostitute mother to a Peking opera troupe supervised by Master Guan. There, Douzi befriends another boy about his age, Shitou.
A teenage Douzi is trained to play dan (female heroine roles), while Shitou learns jing (male hero roles). When practicing the play Dreaming of the World Outside the Nunnery, Douzi misstates the line "I am by nature a girl, not a boy" with "I am by nature a boy, not a girl," for which he receives severe physical punishment. Douzi and another student, Laizi, attempt to run away, but Douzi decides to pursue acting seriously after witnessing an opera performance. Upon returning, they find the whole troupe being punished for their desertion, and Douzi is beaten. As a result, Laizi hangs himself.
An agent who provides funding for opera plays comes to the troupe to seek potential actors. When Douzi repeats the same mistake in front of the agent, Shitou commands him to start over. Douzi finally delivers the entire monologue successfully and secures the agent. The troupe is invited to perform for eunuch Zhang. Shitou and Douzi are brought to Zhang's house where they find a finely crafted sword, which Shitou promises to one day gift to Douzi, as the hero would do for his concubine. Zhang asks to meet Douzi in his room and sexually assaults him. Shitou implicitly knows what happened although Douzi does not speak of the assault. On their way home, Douzi rescues an abandoned baby, who later comes under Master Guan's training.
Memorabilia from the film exhibited at "The Art of Leslie Cheung's Movie Images", April 2013, Hong Kong Central Library.
Years later, Douzi and Shitou have become Peking opera stars, taking the names Cheng Dieyi and Duan Xiaolou, respectively. Their signature performance is the play Farewell My Concubine, where Cheng Dieyi plays Consort Yu and Duan Xiaolou plays the hero Xiang Yu. Their fame attracts the attention of Yuan Shiqing, a reputable person who attends their performances. Yuan Shiqing has come to possess the sword which was once in Eunuch Zhang's house and gifts the sword to Dieyi. The adult Cheng Dieyi is in love with Duan Xiaolou; when Xiaolou marries Juxian, a headstrong courtesan at an upscale brothel, Dieyi and Xiaolou's relationship begins to fall apart. The love triangle between Dieyi, Xiaolou, and Juxian leads to jealousy and betrayal, which is further complicated by the successive political upheavals following the Second Sino-Japanese War. When Master Guan dies, the abandoned baby, now Xiao Si, comes under Dieyi's training to continue learning dan roles.
When the communist forces win the civil war, Xiao Si becomes an avid follower of the new government. Dieyi's addiction to opium negatively affects his performances, but he ultimately rehabilitates with the help of Xiaolou and Juxian. Xiao Si nurtures resentment against Dieyi because of his rigorous teachings and usurps his role in Farewell My Concubine during one performance, without anyone telling Dieyi beforehand. Devastated by the betrayal, Dieyi secludes himself and refuses to reconcile with Xiaolou. As the Cultural Revolution continues, the entire opera troupe is put on a struggle session by the Red Guards where, under pressure, Dieyi and Xiaolou accuse each other of counterrevolutionary acts. Dieyi also tells the guards that Juxian was a prostitute. To protect himself from further prosecution, Xiaolou swears that he does not love her and will "make a clean break" with her. Juxian is heartbroken and returns the sword to Dieyi before committing suicide. Afterward, Xiao Si is caught by the Red Guards when he is singing Consort Yu's lines to the mirror alone in a practice room.
In 1977, Dieyi and Xiaolou reunite, seeming to have mended their relationship. They once again practice Farewell My Concubine. During a break, Xiaolou begins reciting the line "I am by nature a boy," to which Dieyi makes the same mistake of finishing with "I am not a girl." The film ends with both of them finishing the rehearsal, but Dieyi takes Xiaolou's sword and cuts his own throat, paralleling the concubine's final act in the opera.
Red Guard (Simplified: 红卫兵, Traditional: 紅衛兵, Pinyin: Hóngwèibīng)
Production
Chen Kaige was first given a copy of Lilian Lee's novel in 1988, and although Chen found the story of the novel to be "compelling", he found the emotional subtext of the novel "a bit thin". After meeting with Lee, they together recruited Chinese writer Lu Wei for the screenplay, and in 1991, he completed the first draft of the screenplay.[8][9] The director chose the heroic suicide of Dieyi over the original story's banality in order to present the "Lie nu"[clarification needed] image of Dieyi and to accentuate women's liberation which was a big theme in Fifth Generation films.[10]
Jackie Chan was originally considered for the role of Cheng Dieyi, but he declined the offer. John Lone later lobbied for the role but failed to progress past contractual negotiations with producer Hsu Feng.[11]
Hong Kong actor Leslie Cheung was used in the film to attract audiences because melodramas were not a popular genre. It was believed that it was the first film where Cheung spoke Mandarin Chinese. However, for most of the movie Cheung's voice is dubbed by Beijing actor Yang Lixin. Director Chen left Cheung's original voice in two scenes, where Cheung's voice is distorted by physical and mental distress.[12] Due to Gong Li's international stardom, she was cast as one of the main characters in the film.[10]
Historical background
The historical background of the film is multi-layered and complicated, which contributes to the plot and the composition of the film.[13] The 1990s saw the Chinese government trying to improve the country's image after controversial protests[citation needed] that involved students, workers, and foreign government agencies [citation needed]. David Shambaugh writes that the government's new agenda focused on "restoring the appearance of unity in the leadership, ensuring the loyalty of the military, reestablishing social order, reasserting central control over the provinces, recentralizing and retrenching the economy, and redefining China's role in a post-Cold War international environment".[14] In addition to the government's attempts at improving the country's image, by the time of the film's release, the atmosphere toward criticism of Cultural Revolution shifted. As Luo Hui notes "criticizing the Cultural Revolution had become permissible, even fashionable", allowing the film to highlight the devastation in the world of art, as well as other aspects of Chinese society like medicine and education, suffered at the hands of the Cultural Revolution movement.[15]
Release
Release in China
The film premiered in Shanghai in July 1993 but was removed from theatres after two weeks for further censorial review, and was subsequently banned in August[16]. Because the film won the Palme d'Or at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival, the ban was met with an international outcry.[17] Feeling that there was "no choice" and fearing the ban hurt China's bid for the 2000 Summer Olympics, officials allowed the film to resume public showings in September. This release was censored; scenes dealing with the Cultural Revolution and homosexuality were cut, and the final scene was revised to "soften the blow of the suicide".[18]
Box office and reception
The film was released to three theaters on 15 October 1993, and grossed $69,408 in its opening weekend. The film grossed $5,216,888 in the US.[19]
In 2005, some 25,000 Hong Kong film fans voted it their favorite Chinese-language film of the century (the second was Wong Kar-wai's Days of Being Wild).[20]
International audience
The attractiveness of the film for international markets was raised by some critics[who?] who were concerned that the film's visual and artistic settings were too culturally specific.[clarification needed] On the other hand, the film was internationally attractive[citation needed]. The rich political and cultural imagery is presented as a colorful east Asian tableaux that intrigues westererners[citation needed]. China's image is a key feature of the film, and the image of that cultural and political iconography is presented for an international audience[citation needed]. Thus, some critics[who?] charge the filmmakers with playing into stereotypes perpetuated about China.[10]
Some critics point to the fact that Chen had created the film to fit domestic and international audiences' tastes, as Chen understands some of the international audience's perceptions and attitudes about Chinese history and sexuality.[21]
Miramax edited version
At Cannes, the film was awarded the highest prize, the Palme d'Or.[22]Miramax Films mogul Harvey Weinstein purchased distribution rights and removed fourteen minutes, resulting in a 157-minute cut. This is the version seen theatrically in the United States and United Kingdom.
According to Peter Biskind's book, Down and Dirty Pictures: Miramax, Sundance and the Rise of Independent Film, Louis Malle, Cannes jury president that year, said: "The film we admired so much in Cannes is not the film seen in this country [the U.S.], which is twenty minutes shorter – but seems longer because it doesn't make any sense. It was better before those guys made cuts."
The uncut 171-minute version has been released by Miramax on DVD.
4K re-release
In the fall of 2023, distributor Film Movement released the 4K restoration of the film theatrically in celebration of its 30th anniversary. It was the first time the uncut version was released in North American theaters.[23]
Roger Ebert awarded the film four stars, praising the plot as "almost unbelievably ambitious" and executed with "freedom and energy".[25]The New York Times critic Vincent Canby hailed it for "action, history, exotic color", positively reviewing the acting of Gong Li, Leslie Cheung and Zhang Fengyi.[26] In New York, David Denby criticized the "spectacle" but felt it would excel internationally, portraying a triumph of love and culture through the darkness.[27]Hal Hinson, writing for The Washington Post, highlighted "its swooning infatuation with the theater- with its colors, its vitality and even its cruel rigors".[28]Desson Howe for the same publication was less positive, writing that the first half had impact but gives way to "novel-like meandering", with less point, as the film reaches its conclusion.[29]
The film was included in The New York Times's 2004 list of The Best 1000 Movies Ever Made[30] and Time's 2005 list of Best Movies of All Time.[31] It was ranked No.97 in Empire magazine's "The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema" in 2010,[32] and No.1 in Time Out's "100 Best Mainland Chinese Films" feature in 2014.[8] The film has a 90% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 52 reviews, with an average rating of 7.80/10. The critics consensus reads, "Chen Kaing's epic is grand in scope and presentation, and, bolstered by solid performances, the result is a film both horrifying and enthralling."[33] The BBC placed the film at number 12 on its 2018 list of the 100 greatest foreign language films.[34] It ranked at number 55 on the Hong Kong Film Awards Association (HKFAA)'s list of the Best 100 Chinese-Language Motion Pictures in 2005.[35] The public ranked Farewell My Concubine atop a 2005 poll of the most beloved films in Hong Kong conducted by Handerson ArtReach.[36]
The cinema of China is the filmmaking and film industry of the Chinese mainland under the People's Republic of China, one of three distinct historical threads of Chinese-language cinema together with the cinema of Hong Kong and the cinema of Taiwan. China is the home of the largest movie and drama production complex and film studios in the world, the Oriental Movie Metropolis and Hengdian World Studios. In 2012 the country became the second-largest market in the world by box office receipts. In 2016, the gross box office in China was CN¥45.71 billion. China has also become a major hub of business for Hollywood studios.
Raise the Red Lantern is a 1991 Chinese period drama film directed by Zhang Yimou and starring Gong Li. It is an adaptation by Ni Zhen of the 1990 novella Raise the Red Lantern by Su Tong. The film was later adapted into a ballet of the same title by the National Ballet of China, also directed by Zhang. Set during the Warlord Era in the 1920s, the film tells the story of a young woman who becomes the fourth wife of a wealthy man. It was the third of eight collaborations between Zhang and Gong, following Red Sorghum in 1987 and Ju Dou in 1990. The film was shot in the Qiao Family Compound near the ancient city of Pingyao, in Shanxi Province.
Gong Li is a Chinese-Singaporean actress. Regarded as one of the best actresses in China today, she is known for her versatility and naturalistic performance. She starred in three of the four Chinese-language films that have been nominated for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.
Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing, born Cheung Fat-chung, was a Hong Kong singer and actor. One of the most influential cultural icons in the Chinese world, Cheung was known for his debonair demeanor, flamboyant screen characters, and avant-garde, androgynous stage presence. Throughout his 26-year career, he released over 40 music albums and acted in 56 films.
Wong Kar-wai is a Hong Kong film director, screenwriter, and producer. His films are characterised by nonlinear narratives, atmospheric music, and vivid cinematography involving bold, saturated colours. A pivotal figure of Hong Kong cinema, Wong is considered a contemporary auteur, and ranks third on Sight & Sound's 2002 poll of the greatest filmmakers of the previous 25 years. His films frequently appear on best-of lists domestically and internationally.
In the Mood for Love is a 2000 romantic drama film written, directed and produced by Wong Kar-wai. A co-production between Hong Kong and France, it portrays a man and a woman in 1962 whose spouses have an affair together and who slowly develop feelings for each other. It forms the second part of an informal trilogy, alongside Days of Being Wild and 2046.
Chen Kaige is a Chinese filmmaker. A leading figure of the fifth generation of Chinese directors, Chen is known for his visual flair and epic storytelling. Chen won the Palme d'Or at 1993 Cannes Film Festival and the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) Award in 1993 for directing Farewell My Concubine.
Temptress Moon is a 1996 Chinese film directed by Chen Kaige. It was jointly produced by the Shanghai Film Studio and the Taipei-based Tomson Films. The film saw Chen reuniting with Leslie Cheung and Gong Li who had previously worked with him in his breakout international hit Farewell My Concubine.
In the Heat of the Sun is a 1994 Chinese film directed and written by Jiang Wen. The film is based loosely on author Wang Shuo's novel Wild Beast.
The Cinema of East Asia is cinema produced in East Asia or by people from this region. It is part of cinema of Asia, which in turn is part of world cinema.
Li Pi-Hua, also known as Lilian Lee, Lillian Lee and Lee Pik-wah, is a Hong Kong novelist, screenwriter and reporter.
Zhang Fengyi is a Chinese actor best known for his role as "Duan Xiaolou" in Farewell My Concubine (1993), Jing Ke in The Emperor and the Assassin (1998), and Cao Cao in Red Cliff (2008–2009).
Life on a String is a 1991 Chinese film by acclaimed film director Chen Kaige. Made before his international breakthrough Farewell, My Concubine, Life on a String is a more intimate and philosophical affair, telling the story of a blind sanxian player and his young disciple. The film was based on the novel Life on a String (《命若琴弦》) by Shi Tiesheng. The film was entered into the 1991 Cannes Film Festival.
Forever Enthralled is a Chinese biographical film directed by Chen Kaige; the film marks Chen's eleventh feature film as a director. Forever Enthralled follows the life of Mei Lanfang, one of China's premiere opera performers. It stars Leon Lai as Mei, Zhang Ziyi, Sun Honglei and Masanobu Andō.
The Big Parade is a 1986 Chinese film directed by Chen Kaige. It is the story of a tough drill sergeant and his raw recruits, and was photographed by Zhang Yimou.
The 46th Cannes Film Festival took place from 13 to 24 May 1993. French filmmaker Louis Malle served as jury president for the main competition. French actress Jeanne Moreau hosted the opening and closing ceremonies.
Hsu Feng is a Taiwanese-born actress and film producer. In the 1970s she was one of the leading actresses of the cinemas of Hong Kong and Taiwan, particularly known for her roles in wuxia films and her work with director King Hu. In 1981 she retired from her career as an actress, but a few years later she returned to the film industry as a producer and went on to produce several award-winning movies. Among them was Chen Kaige's Farewell My Concubine, which won the Palme d'Or (1993) and the BAFTA Award for Best Film not in the English Language (1994) and was nominated for an Academy Award and a César for best foreign film as well.
Farewell My Concubine is a Chinese-language western-style opera composed by choral conductor and composer Xiao Bai (萧白), to a libretto by Wang Jian (王健) for China National Opera House which toured America with the opera in 2008.
↑ Wang, Yiman (2013). Remaking Chinese cinema: through the prism of Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Hollywood. University of Hawaiʻi Press. ISBN978-0-8248-7117-8. OCLC986628712.
↑ Ying, Liang. "Making the Familiar Strange and the Strange Familiar-Farewell, My Concubine and Its Crossing National Borders". US-China Foreign Language. 9: 530–538.
↑ "爱白网". Aibai.com. 28 May 2005. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
↑ Ying, Liang (August 2011). "Making the Familiar Strange and the Strange Familiar-Farewell, My Concubine and Its Crossing National Borders". US-China Foreign Language. 9: 530–538.
↑ Vadeboncoeur, Joan (8 January 1995). "Critically Acclaimed Best Movies of '94 Include Works from Tarantino, Burton, Demme, Redford, Disney and Speilberg". Syracuse Herald American (Finaled.). p.16.
↑ King, Dennis (25 December 1994). "SCREEN SAVERS In a Year of Faulty Epics, The Oddest Little Movies Made The Biggest Impact". Tulsa World (Final Homeed.). p.E1.
Braester, Yomi. Farewell My Concubine: National Myth and City Memories. In Chinese Films in Focus: 25 New Takes, edited by Chris Berry, 89–96. London: British Film Institute, 2003.
Leung, Helen Hok-Sze (2010). Farewell My Concubine: A Queer Film Classic (Large Print 16pt). Vancouver: Read How You Want, Arsenal Pulp Press. ISBN978-1459608368.
Kaplan, Ann. Reading Formations and Chen Kaige's Farewell My Concubine. In Sheldon Lu, ed., Transnational Chinese Cinema: Identity, Nationhood, Gender. Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi Press, 1997.
Larson, Wendy. The Concubine and the Figure of History: Chen Kaige's Farewell My Concubine. In Sheldon Lu, ed., Transnational Chinese Cinema: Identity, Nationhood, Gender. Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi Press, 1997; also published as Bawang bieji: Ji yu lishi xingxiang, Qingxiang (1997); also in Harry Kuoshu, ed., Chinese Film, ed. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2000.
Lau, Jenny Kwok Wah. Farewell My Concubine': History, Melodrama, and Ideology in Contemporary Pan-Chinese Cinema.Film Quarterly 49, 1 (Fall, 1995).
Lim, Song Hwee. The Uses of Femininity: Chen Kaige's Farewell My Concubine and Zhang Yuan's East Palace, West Palace. In Lim, Celluloid Comrades: Representations of Male Homosexuality in Contemporary Chinese Cinemas. Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi, 2006, pages 69–98.
Lu, Sheldon Hsiao-peng. "National Cinema, Cultural Critique, Transnational Capital: The Films of Zhang Yimou." In Transnational Chinese Cinema, edited by Sheldon Lu, 105–39. Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi Press, page 199.
McDougall, Bonnie S. "Cross-dressing and the Disappearing Woman in Modern Chinese Fiction, Drama and Film: Reflections on Chen Kaige's Farewell My Concubine." China Information 8, 4 (Summer 1994): pages 42–51.
Metzger, Sean. "Farewell My Fantasy." The Journal of Homosexuality 39, 3/4 (2000): pages 213–32. Rpt. in Andrew Grossman, ed. Queer Asian Cinema: Shadows in the Shade. New York: Harrington Press, 2000, pages 213–232.
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