Lovesusti The Worst Film Ever

BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

Phonearl Good start, but then it gets ruined

Stevecorp Don't listen to the negative reviews

chichunrong One of the most precious article of China. the print of Chinese culture, life and emotions in that times.

XiaoPutao "Farewell My Concubine" is two films at once: an epic spanning a half century of modern Chinese history, and a melodrama about life backstage at the famed Peking Opera. Indeed, Chen's remarkable movie uses an unusual love triangle to telescope more than 50 years of tumultuous Chinese history, and it is neatly divided into eight chapters, each section representing a different era. As the line between the protagonists' art and lives is smudged, they play their roles without deviation or variation, both on-stage and off. Their relationship is portrayed with depth, sensitivity, and realism, creating a real and powerful illustration of human interaction that depicts layers of hatred and love. Appropriately operatic, this visually spectacular film is sumptuous in every respect, but its message is unrelievedly tragic. It is a narrative of sorrowful paradoxes where good intentions inevitably go wrong.

Lynn Zhuang Most genuine is the parallel between opera and life. This is not alien to Chinese people but people in other culture are not familiar with this concept. Chinese people deem our life in other way is an opera and everyone has his own role. Tears, laughter, sorrow, anger, despair are the various emotions in the opera and the various experiences in life. Most important this concept is associated with the emptiness of life. Everything would be gone, just like an opera would end somehow. Despite the emptiness opera is so beautiful and stands for the delicacy and refinement of art. In the film Dieyi and Yuan performs their desperate love towards Opera, indicating their pursuit for the true, the good and the beautiful. Dieyi is a pure man pursuing his ideal both in art and in the real world. Yuan is not as perfect. He is a sophisticated speculator, and has struggled for wealth and fame for his whole life. But he is so obsessed with opera for it is perfect beauty. Dieyi is the incarnation of the beauty which he is dying for. In his pursuing for, protecting, and admiring Dieyi in spite of the others' disliking him and misunderstanding, we see respectable humanness.First time he saw Dieyi he can sense that he is not welcomed. But as a gentleman he expressed his admiration and then left. His directness and decisiveness shows his confidence as well, with a clear mind that he has something else what would win Dieyi's heart, other than money.His argument with Xiaolou on the opera performance shows his insist on art, independent thinking, and his knowledge in opera, and is a foreshadowing for his own competition with Xiaolou. Xiaolou got married and Dieyi was not happy and desperate. Yuan came comforting Dieyi and took him away. Or we say this time Dieyi followed him. He fulfilled his dream to perform the opera together with Dieyi although without any spectator. In his house Dieyi saw the sword and Yuan gives it away unconditionally. He knows Dieyi would leave anyway with the sword, but he never complains, but just gives what he has, to help fulfill Dieyi's dream.Later when Dieyi performed on stage he was interrupted by anti-Japanese leaflet. But Dieyi insisted to complete the performance. In the darkness only Yuan was watching. He really understands what Dieyi insists on, that is the independence of art in spite of any political or racial view. When Dieyi was on trial for betraying his country, it is Yuan that help secure Dieyi. He asks for nothing in return but wants to argue with Xiaolou for the previous performance issue. This is the first time he tries to prove others his pursuit for art. Before that he only did this with Dieyi. We can say he compels Xiaolou, or is willful. He loves Dieyi but doesn't want to occupy him. He lets Dieyi free and is there to protect him. This is unselfish and unconditional, and is different from the romantic love. Or we can say, the love for Dieyi is also his love for the purity of life and the beauty. He saw a Dieyi that lives out his beliefs and values, to some extent Dieyi is another Yuan in Yuan's eyes, standing for the part of Yuan that is free to pursue love and beauty. He loves Dieyi but doesn't want to occupy him. He lets Dieyi free and is there to protect him. This is unselfish and unconditional, and is different from the romantic love. Or we can say, the love for Dieyi is also his love for the purity of life and the beauty. He saw a Dieyi that lives out his beliefs and values, to some extent Dieyi is another Yuan in Yuan's eyes, standing for the part of Yuan that is free to pursue love and beauty. Yuan was executed in the end. Before he died he defends the opera art at a price of his life. He can die without pity, for he finally carries out his value. He never is able to perform on the stage, for he can't be a pure artist, but the execution of him brings him onto the stage, on the last day of his life. How ridiculous this is. The world has become insane. Yuan knows it pretty well and stepped onto the stage with ease. Yuan was executed in the end. Before he died he defends the opera art at a price of his life. He can die without pity, for he finally carries out his value. He never is able to perform on the stage, for he can't be a pure artist, but the execution of him brings him onto the stage, on the last day of his life. How ridiculous this is. The world has become insane. Yuan knows it pretty well and stepped onto the stage with ease.

Mario64 Farewell My Concubine is a glorious epic about two friends over the span of many decades. Together they go through the horrors of opera school as children in the 1920's, and then Opera stars during the Japanese invasion of China in the 30's, the Communist takeover in the 40's, and the Cultural Revolution of the 60's. Between them is the wife of one and a former prostitute, Juxian, played by Gong Li. The relationship among the three is often very complex, and goes through plenty of turmoil, but Dieyi and Xiaolou and the Beijing Opera somehow stay together.This movie to put it simply is beautiful, particularly during the opera scenes. It's one of the most pleasing movies just to look at that I have seen in some time. It's also beautifully told. With so much ambition it could have been way too complex for someone not familiar with the history to understand, but it's actually quite direct and flows fantastically from one section to another.The two acting leads do good jobs, but it's Gong Li that stands out. Her character evolves greatly at first from dislike of Dieyi to sympathy and even tenderness. In her marriage to Xialou she wants him to quit Opera, but eventually accepts it and sees it as a necessary part of his life. Gong Li is the main heart and soul of the film, and this is the best acting work I have seen from her.This certainly stands as one of the five best Chinese language films I have ever seen. It's not completely flawless, some of the earlier scenes I think are a bit heavy-handed, but overall this epic and tragic story for friendship and love is a must see.