❝I'm just a fake king. You really are Concubine Yu.❞
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: .☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
It was a mistake to think I could watch Farewell My Concubine at 2 am: not only did I not finish it in one sitting, I fell asleep and and had very lurid dreams. However, I'm just glad that I finally got around to watching it, because it truly is an epic in every sense of the word.
I've always been interested in the different forms of Chinese opera ever since I read Empress Orchid by Anchee Min, especially Peking Opera, so I was already predestined to like this film in one way at least, but it was heartbreaking to see the conditions in which mere boys were forced to endure during their training. From the get-go Dieyi stole my heart; life just kept taking and taking from him, and he kept trying his best. Disgusting men kept taking advantage of him and he withstood it all for the one person who helped him as a boy, only for that person to betray him time and time again. Initially I did like Xiaolou, but he became so selfish and deceived the two people closest to him, where Juxian came into play a lot. My feelings towards her took the opposite direction as those for Xiaolou: I thought she was just using him and driving a wedge between him and Dieyi, but as the film progressed I understood that she was just trying her best to survive, and she did harbour warmth for Dieyi (the scene with her cradling him was painful).
It was fascinating to watch how politics changed the landscape of opera as well as the personal lives of the actors. It felt like Dieyi and Xiaolou were shielded from what was happening around them for a long time, so when everything started falling apart they didn't know what to do, which is why they were easily influenced (especially Xiaolou). It was also intriguing seeing the themes of gender identity and homosexuality play out and manifest in a lot of the relationships between the characters, like that of Dieyi and Xiaolou, as well as the relationship between fate and free-will; that final scene was difficult to watch knowing what was going to happen, but nothing could've prepared me for Xiaolou's scream.
While the film was excellent, the run-time was definitely a tad too long, because it made the pacing of the story a bit off too. However, the cinematography was absolutely beautiful, and it was accompanied by stunning costumes (I loved Dieyi's Concubine costume the most) and makeup. The colour palette was full of such vibrant golds, reds, greens and whites, and the usage of those colours for different characters and scenes served to highlight the contrast between the glittering world of the opera troupe versus the gritty real world, though eventually the two collided. The music was gorgeous, too, and I could've listened to Dieyi's singing for the entire duration of the film and been happy.
Leslie Cheung was heart-wrenchingly perfect for the role of Dieyi. He had a very androgynous stage presence which was emphasised by his subtle facial expressions and soft mannerisms (I need to watch more of his films because I was entranced; rest in peace Leslie). By contrast, Zhang Fengyi's Xiaolou had an easy-going and flamboyant exterior hiding a scared and, in the end, cowardly man. Fengyi also utilised powerful facial expressions but used them in addition to more 'masculine' body language. They complemented each other very well and had great chemistry throughout the entire film. Gong Li, of course, gave a brilliant performance as Juxian. When she first met Dieyi, I was absorbed with comparing the two; they were both so elegant and graceful, but Juxian, for a while, had a manipulative streak to her charm, and I was impressed with how Gong Li portrayed this slowly becoming dejectedness.
Farewell My Concubine was beguilingly melancholy, and I loved it. After reading the novel, I'm definitely going to come back to the film and compare the differences, as well as venture further into Chinese cinema.
❝I'm just a fake king. You really are Concubine Yu.❞
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: .☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
It was a mistake to think I could watch Farewell My Concubine at 2 am: not only did I not finish it in one sitting, I fell asleep and and had very lurid dreams. However, I'm just glad that I finally got around to watching it, because it truly is an epic in every sense of the word.
I've always been interested in the different forms of Chinese opera ever since I read Empress Orchid by Anchee Min, especially Peking Opera, so I was already predestined to like this film in one way at least, but it was heartbreaking to see the conditions in which mere boys were forced to endure during their training. From the get-go Dieyi stole my heart; life just kept taking and taking from him, and he kept trying his best. Disgusting men kept taking advantage of him and he withstood it all for the one person who helped him as a boy, only for that person to betray him time and time again. Initially I did like Xiaolou, but he became so selfish and deceived the two people closest to him, where Juxian came into play a lot. My feelings towards her took the opposite direction as those for Xiaolou: I thought she was just using him and driving a wedge between him and Dieyi, but as the film progressed I understood that she was just trying her best to survive, and she did harbour warmth for Dieyi (the scene with her cradling him was painful).
It was fascinating to watch how politics changed the landscape of opera as well as the personal lives of the actors. It felt like Dieyi and Xiaolou were shielded from what was happening around them for a long time, so when everything started falling apart they didn't know what to do, which is why they were easily influenced (especially Xiaolou). It was also intriguing seeing the themes of gender identity and homosexuality play out and manifest in a lot of the relationships between the characters, like that of Dieyi and Xiaolou, as well as the relationship between fate and free-will; that final scene was difficult to watch knowing what was going to happen, but nothing could've prepared me for Xiaolou's scream.
While the film was excellent, the run-time was definitely a tad too long, because it made the pacing of the story a bit off too. However, the cinematography was absolutely beautiful, and it was accompanied by stunning costumes (I loved Dieyi's Concubine costume the most) and makeup. The colour palette was full of such vibrant golds, reds, greens and whites, and the usage of those colours for different characters and scenes served to highlight the contrast between the glittering world of the opera troupe versus the gritty real world, though eventually the two collided. The music was gorgeous, too, and I could've listened to Dieyi's singing for the entire duration of the film and been happy.
Leslie Cheung was heart-wrenchingly perfect for the role of Dieyi. He had a very androgynous stage presence which was emphasised by his subtle facial expressions and soft mannerisms (I need to watch more of his films because I was entranced; rest in peace Leslie). By contrast, Zhang Fengyi's Xiaolou had an easy-going and flamboyant exterior hiding a scared and, in the end, cowardly man. Fengyi also utilised powerful facial expressions but used them in addition to more 'masculine' body language. They complemented each other very well and had great chemistry throughout the entire film. Gong Li, of course, gave a brilliant performance as Juxian. When she first met Dieyi, I was absorbed with comparing the two; they were both so elegant and graceful, but Juxian, for a while, had a manipulative streak to her charm, and I was impressed with how Gong Li portrayed this slowly becoming dejectedness.
Farewell My Concubine was beguilingly melancholy, and I loved it. After reading the novel, I'm definitely going to come back to the film and compare the differences, as well as venture further into Chinese cinema.
