♥♥♥♥♥♥
+ Best Movie of the Year
+ Best Historical Drama of the Year + Best Hong Kong Movie of the Year + Best Period Movie of the Year
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| Rave critical notices headline this white poster with one colorful central image for Chen Kaige's Farewell My Concubine |
Beijing in the1930s: In an extremely rough boys' school, two boys develop a lasting friendship, which is carried on as they stage a famous opera in the following decades.
Farewell My Concubine is written by Wei Lu (Red Cherry/Hong ying tao (1995)) and Pik Wah Lee (as Lilian Lee) (Dumplings/Jiao zi (2004)), on whose same-titled 1985 novel the film is based, and directed by Chinese master filmmaker Chen Kaige (Life on a String/Bian zou bian chang (1991)), whose 5th film it is. The original title translates to, 'The Hegemon-King Bids Farewell to His Concubine'.
This epic historical romance-drama is in many ways a bold national portrait of China thats ripe with pain, and which doesn't beat around the bush in regards to the vast country's 20th century historical milestones: The period of emperors was unfathomably tough; the nationalists were uneducated thugs; and the Maoists were even worse. Their despicable Cultural Revolution is presented as a dark chapter of betrayal and destruction.
At the same time, Farewell My Concubine is a portrayal of a homosexual dancer, the titular 'concubine', who is played by Mingwei Ma as a child, Zhi Yin (Forever Enthralled/Mei Lanfang (2008)) as a teenager and Leslie Cheung (The Chinese Feast/Jin yu man tang (1995)) as a grown man, with performances that are as eminent as they are moving. Although the character transports men of every epoch with his elegant, beautiful self, his own love is tragic and unresolved. The effects of severe punishments on the human mind are also evocatively rendered.
The aesthetic adoration of the male and homosexuals here are very interesting. Farewell My Concubine is also a film with splendid costumes (by Changmin Chen (Temptress Moon/Feng yue (1996))) and an intoxicating unfamiliarity or foreignness to it, (for myself and I am sure many non-Chinese audiences at least.) It is a grand and unusual masterpiece to be sure.
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Cost: 4 mil. $
Box office: 5.2 mil. $ - North America only
= Uncertain (returned in excess of 1.3 times its cost)
[Farewell My Concubine premiered on 1 January (Hong Kong) and runs 171 minutes (the US theatrical release was only 157 minutes, and the long version is the one to watch.) The film was shown for 2 weeks in Shanghai in July 1993 before it was retracted by state censorship. Following international outcry, the film was allowed to screen again in September after cuts to the film's portrayal of the Cultural Revolution, homosexuality and suicide were committed upon the film. Miramax's North America, release was also cut (by 14 minutes), yet it still had an impressive 5.2 mil. $ run in the continent. Without the gross numbers for any other markets, it isn't possible to ascertain whether the film did well theatrically overall or not. It was nominated for 2 Oscars: Best Cinematography (Changwei Gu (Hurlyburly (1998))), lost to Janusz Kaminsky for Schindler's List, and Best Foreign Film (Hong Kong), lost to Belle Epoque (Spain). The film won the Palme d'Or in Cannes (tied with Jane Campion's The Piano) as well as the FIPRESCI critics' prize, a Golden Globe, a BAFTA, was nominated for a César award, won 2 National Board of Review awards and other honors. Roger Ebert gave the film a 4/4 star review, equal to its rating here. Chen returned with Temptress Moon/Feng yue (1996). Cheung returned in All's Well, Ends Well Too/Hua tian xi shi (1993). Farewell My Concubine is fresh at 86 % with a 7.5/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
What do you think of Farewell My Concubine?
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