Farewell My Concubine (, ) is a 1993 epic historical drama film, directed by Chen Kaige, starring Leslie Cheung, Gong Li and Zhang Fengyi. Based on the novel of the same name by Lilian Lee, the film is set in unstable 20th-century China, from the early formations of the Republic of China, to the aftermath of the Cultural Revolution. The film describes the troubled relationships between Peking opera actors Cheng Dieyi, Duan Xiaolou, and Xiaolou's wife Gong Juxian, and their interactions with Chinese politics and society.
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 co-production between mainland China and Hong Kong (China), Farewell My Concubine premiered on 1 January 1993 in Hong Kong. Upon release, the film received generally positive reviews from contemporary critics, and jointly won the Palme d'Or with The Piano at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival, becoming the first Chinese-language film to receive the award. It won further accolades, including a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film and a BAFTA for Best Film Not in the English Language, and received two nominations at the 66th Academy Awards for Best Cinematography and Best Foreign Language Film.
A few weeks after its release in China, the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party demanded changes to be made to the film, due to unconventional depictions of traditional values and political sensitivities in its portrayal of the Communist Youth League of China. While allowing a premiere in Beijing, the government objected to the film's representation of homosexuality and gender identity, the suicide of a leading character, and its showing of China's 1960s turmoil.
The film was approved for further exhibition in September 1993, less than a year after its original release. However, the re-release had 14 minutes removed from the original film by state censors. Chinese officials felt that a re-release, as opposed to maintaining a full ban, would silence an ever-growing international backlash, and to also help their bid to host the 2000 Olympic Games in Beijing.
Farewell My Concubine is considered one of the landmark films of the Fifth Generation movement that brought Chinese film directors to world attention. In 2005, the film was selected as one of the "100 Best Films in Global History" by Time magazine.
Plot In 1924 Peking, a young boy by the name of Douzi is abandoned by his prostitute mother to a Peking opera troupe supervised by Master Guan, who like many other opera troupe leaders, would take in orphaned children as apprentices. There, Douzi is mocked by the other children for his mother's origin, but nonetheless is befriended by another boy about his age, Shitou, a boy with a talent for breaking stones with his head.
As teenagers, Douzi trains 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 repeatedly misspeaks the line "I am by nature a girl, not a boy" as "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; Laizi buys candied hawthorns using Douzi's few coins, but Douzi decides to pursue acting seriously after being moved by an opera performance. Upon returning, they find the whole troupe being punished for their desertion, and Douzi steps in and is beaten in Shitou's place. As a result, Laizi eats the hawthorns and later hangs himself.
Na Kun, 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 Na Kun's patronage. 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.
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 Xiang Yu; before every play, Dieyi would finish the stage makeup for Xiaolou as a small act of love. Their fame attracts the attention of the high-ranking Yuan Shiqing when he attends their performances. Yuan has come to possess the sword from Zhang's house, which he gives to Dieyi as a gift. Though pursued by Yuan, Dieyi is secretly in love with Xiaolou. Xiaolou later meets Juxian, a headstrong prostitute who buys her freedom and seeks an ordinary life with him. After Xiaolou marries her, Dieyi feels betrayed, and the relationship among Dieyi, Xiaolou, and Juxian becomes the central emotional conflict in the film. When Master Guan dies, the abandoned baby, now Xiao Si, comes under Dieyi's training to continue learning dan roles.
During the Second Sino-Japanese War, Xiaolou is arrested after confronting Japanese soldiers, and Juxian asks Dieyi to help secure his release. Dieyi performs for the Japanese in exchange for Xiaolou's freedom, but after Japan's surrender, the Kuomintang authorities charge him with treason. Xiaolou and Juxian seek Yuan's help to save him, but Juxian miscarries during the crisis. Dieyi is eventually released, yet the incident deepens the emotional distance between him, Xiaolou, and Juxian. As his personal and professional life declines, Dieyi becomes addicted to opium.
When the communist forces win the civil war, Yuan is sentenced to death, and Xiao Si becomes an avid follower of the new government, questioning his teacher about his position regarding the new government approved plays and after receiving a negative answer, accuses him of being a capitalist. Dieyi's addiction negatively affects his performances and renders him unable to sing, but he ultimately quits opium 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 in the middle of a performance. Xiaolou initially refuses to perform with Xiao Si, but the latter implicitly threatens him with the politics of not performing for the masses, and Xiaolou continues the performance. Devastated by the betrayal, Dieyi secludes himself and refuses to reconcile with Xiaolou.
As the Cultural Revolution continues, the Peking Opera is prohibited and replaced with Maoist plays. The entire opera troupe, accused by Xiao Si and Na Kun, is forced into a struggle session by Red Guards. The opera troupe is forced to dress up and is paraded around town while being ridiculed by their captors as well as bystanders. Xiaolou's mighty and meaningful stage makeup becomes smudged after being beaten up by the Red Guards: Dieyi, in full costume of Consort Yu, calmly picks up the brush and finishes the stage makeup for a humiliated and weakened Xiaolou. Then, under pressure, Xiaolou accuses Dieyi of counterrevolutionary acts. After Xiaolou implies Dieyi is homosexual, Dieyi tells the guards that Juxian was a prostitute. To protect himself from further persecution, Xiaolou swears that he does not love Juxian and will "make a clean break" with her.
Although humiliated, neither Xiaolou or Dieyi are convicted, but must continue to reenact the play for the new government. Juxian is heartbroken and returns the sword to Dieyi before committing suicide. Xiao Si is caught by the Red Guards singing Consort Yu's lines while admiring the lavish stage jewelry he took from Dieyi.
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." As their performance reaches its climax, Dieyi takes Xiaolou's sword and kills himself, completing the role of Consort Yu and merging his own fate with the opera's tragic ending. Xiaolou screams Dieyi's name, then softly calls out "Douzi..."
Cast Actor CharacterLeslie Cheung Cheng Dieyi (程蝶衣, Pinyin: Chéng Diéyī) / Douzi (小豆子, Pinyin: Xiǎo Dòuzi)Yin ZhiCheng Dieyi (teenager)Ma MingweiCheng Dieyi (child)Zhang FengyiDuan Xiaolou () / Xiaoshitou ()Zhao HailongDuan Xiaolou (teenager)Fei YangDuan Xiaolou (child)Gong LiJuxian (菊仙 Júxiān)Ge YouYuan Shiqing (袁世卿 Yuán Shìqīng)Lü QiMaster Guan (Simplified: 关师傅, Traditional: 關師傅, Pinyin: Guān Shīfu)Ying Da Na Kun (那坤 Nā Kūn)YidiEunuch Zhang (Simplified: 张公公, Traditional: 張公公, Pinyin: Zhāng Gōnggong)Zhi YitongSaburo Aoki (青木 三郎, Chinese Pinyin: Qīngmù Sānláng, Japanese: Aoki Saburō)Lei HanXiao SiLi ChunXiao Si (teenager)Li DanLaizi (Simplified: 小癞子, Traditional: 小癩子, Pinyin: Xiǎo Làizǐ)Yang YongchaoLaizi (child)Jiang WenliMother of Xiao DouziWu Dai-wai Red Guard (Simplified: 红卫兵, Traditional: 紅衛兵, Pinyin: Hóngwèibīng)
Production
Chen Kaige was best known for his previous work, Yellow Earth, which followed a 'personal, direct and primitive' approach, but with Farewell My Concubine, he was looking to make a more commercialized artistic film. 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.
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.
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. Due to Gong Li's international stardom, she was cast as one of the main characters in the film.
Historical background The film is set based on five different periods in Chinese history, including the late Qing Dynasty, the Republican Era, the Japanese occupation, and the Cultural Revolution. This setting is significant, as it helped in developing the structure of the film and connecting individual experiences with Chinese history.
By incorporating traditional Chinese opera, the film delves deeply into the psychological and emotional complexities of its central characters. Peking opera, as a classic Chinese traditional element, is interspersed in the film. The audience watches the drama while watching the movie, creating a double visual experience. Such addition of opera clips promotes the plot, expressing the character's state of mind while giving the audience space to interpret the character. Each facial makeup in the Peking opera represents a specific opera role: in the film, Cheng Dieyi rejects the male dan mask at the beginning, then actively identifies with it, finally confuses his own gender. This makes his role as the Concubine blur the lines between performance and reality, leaving him unable to separate his true self from the character he plays.