FAREWELL MY CONCUBINE. (1993) (THE HEGEMON-KING BIDS FAREWELL TO HIS CONCUBINE.) DIRECTED BY CHEN KAIGE. ADAPTED FROM THE NOVEL BY LILIAN LEE. STARRING LESLIE CHEUNG, XHANG FENGYI AND GONG LI. REVIEW BY SANDRA HARRIS. ©
This is a gorgeous epic film, considered by many to be their favourite Chinese-language film of the twentieth century. I can't imagine that it would have many serious competitors, in all honesty. It's just such a superb piece of sprawling movie-making. It's even the winner of the 1993 Palme D'Or, the highest honour given out at the highly prestigious Cannes Film Festival.
I think I may have seen the film on television's Channel Four in the late 'Nineties when I was a young 'un. I have this vague memory of its having blown my mind back then, even though I didn't fully understand the intricacies and ramifications of the plot, especially the political parts. Now I'm all grown-up and I'm still a bit foggy on the political bits, haha, but the friendship-and-love elements of the plot are a pleasure to summarize for you here.
Presented against a backdrop of China's political turmoil from (roughly) the 1920's to the late 1970's, it's the story of two men and the woman who came between them. That's a simplified version, but it's nonetheless correct for all that. Douzi and Shitou are only young lads when they meet at a Beijing Opera-Training school. If you're wondering where the 'training' element comes in as regards practising to be an opera star, I'm about to explain it to you...
The training-school is perhaps the most memorable part of this nearly-three-hour epic movie. Boy, was my butt numb by the time the credits rolled...! The boys who live in the school receive the harshest treatment from their teachers. The teachers believe that savage discipline, daily whippings and a spartan diet and lifestyle are good for their pupils and build character, physical strength and stamina and will lead to a disciplined approach to their careers. Or maybe they just really like whipping boys, haha...!
Shitou and the younger, more feminine Douzi, whose entrance into the school was extremely traumatic, don't just become lifelong friends at the school. They become one of the biggest success stories too, much to the satisfaction of their teacher, dear cuddly old whip-wielding Master Guan. (Believe me, he ain't too cuddly, that's the joke...!)
They regularly perform the Peking opera FAREWELL MY CONCUBINE together, the beautiful sad story of a concubine (the sweet-faced, feminine Douzi) who remains loyal to her King (Shitou) until death. In their real lives, Douzi is hopelessly head-over-heels in love with Shitou, who keeps saying misleading things like if he were ever emperor, Douzi would be his queen. But Shitou doesn't return Douzi's love in a sexual way, and when Shitou one day marries a high-class prostitute called Juxian, Douzi is devastated...
The scenes where Douzi publicly 'disses' Shitou's new squeeze are hilarious. He's wonderfully bitchy and catty in a way that I think only a jealous gay man could really be. Talk about miaow...! The political upheavals wrought by the Japanese occupation of China in the 'Forties and 'Fifties see the three of them thrown together in different traumatic situations and, when the curtain finally comes down, at least two of the parties are older and wiser. But I won't say which two...!
The spectacle of the Peking Opera is something you'd be lucky to see even once in your lifetime. The colours are vividly brilliant, the scenery is elaborate and stunning and the sounds of the opera itself, once you get over the way they sound a bit like cats yowling at each other in the night (!), is simply exquisite.
The whole way through the opera scenes, I was personally bemoaning my lack of culture. Well, compared to these guys, anyway! It's the kind of film that makes you want to go out and ingest culture by the barrel-full. Gobble it down Homer Simpson-style like a bucket of fried chicken with a side of 'slaw.
It makes you want to go and admire pieces of Chinese art in a museum, or watch more films like this. I enjoyed it thoroughly. After seeing it in the 'Nineties and having vague but positive memories of it, watching it again was as satisfying as finally filling in the missing pieces of a particularly intriguing puzzle or coming home on a wet day to a nice hot bowl of soup.
FAREWELL MY CONCUBINE is out on Blu-ray and DVD in a snazzy Dual Format Edition on
21st March 2016, courtesy of the nice people at the British Film Institute. Naturally, there are extra features included. (Well, naturally, haha!) You can purchase BFI releases from all good home entertainment retailers or online at www.bfi.org.uk/shop so my advice to you film buffs is to run out and buy this as soon as you get the chance. Set aside a good three hours to watch it. Put your phone on silent and tell the dog to walk himself, just this once...!
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY OF SANDRA HARRIS.
Sandra Harris is a Dublin-based novelist, film blogger and movie reviewer. She has studied Creative Writing and Film-Making. She has published a number of e-books on the following topics: horror film reviews, multi-genre film reviews, womens' fiction, erotic fiction, erotic horror fiction and erotic poetry. Several new books are currently in the pipeline. You can browse or buy any of Sandra's books by following the link below straight to her Amazon Author Page:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B015GDE5RO
You can contact Sandra at:
http://sandrafirstruleoffilmclubharris.wordpress.com
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