Drama

霸王别姬

Beijing Film Studio

China Film Co-Production Corp.

Tomson (Hong Kong) Films Co., Ltd.

China

Hong Kong

普通话

Farewell My Concubine

Leslie Cheung

Zhang Fengyi

Gong Li

Lü Qi

Ying Da

Ge You

Lei Han

Tong Di

Yin Zhi

Ma Mingwei

Zhao Hailong

Fei Zhenxiang

Yang Yong Chao

Huang Fei

Jiang Wenli

Zhi Yitong

Li Chun

David Wu

Shen Huifen

Huang Lei

Fang Zheng

Sui Yongqing

Yang Lixin

Gu Changwei

Chen Kaige

Lilian Lee Bik-Wah

Pei Xiaonan

Lu Wei

Tang Jun Nian

Hsu Feng

Bai Yu

Zhang Jinzhan

Jin Ping

Jonathan Lee

Zhao Jiping

Zhao Faquan

Yang Yu-He

Yang Zhanjia

Tingxiao Huo

Nakamuka Tawishiko

Wei Junhua

Hu Bingxu

Shen Jianqin

Xianchun Zhang

Kang Xiaotian

Kong Jinlei

Song Shan-Ming

Huang Baorong

Wang Chi-Min

Jinming Jiang

Sandy Lam

Zhang Jinting

Tao Jing

Chen Changmin

Fang Qing-Shan

Xu Guang-Rui

Filipe Manuel Neto

**An excellent film.**

I was really curious to see this movie, because as far as I can remember it was the first Chinese movie I saw. Before I saw it, I read a little about it, and I was quite impressed to see how the film did well in the West, and managed to infuriate Chinese Communist censors. However, I fear that I was not fully prepared for what awaited me.

In fact, the film is truly brutal, in every sense of the word. Director Kaige Chen took a well-known and respected book for his film, but put all the focus on an almost visceral realism. The film is an epic that spans a large period of time, between 1924 and 1977, that is, very troubled years in Chinese history, which includes the entire period of war against Japan and the invasion of Manchuria, as well as the cultural revolution. Maoist.

At the same time, it reveals the backstage of Cantonese opera, a traditional Chinese cultural style. In the film, two young apprentices live a cruel and unhappy life at the opera school, with daily beatings and various abuses, including sexual abuse. One of them will play the female characters in the stories, like a transvestite, since women are not allowed on stage. Throughout the film, there is a lot of confusion between life and art, and we often feel that these actors are mixing things up, living their characters in real life and transposing their real life to the stage.

I don't know any of the actors in the cast, but I really liked their overall work, and the way they play opposite each other. The film also has extraordinary scenarios, full of realistic details, such as the construction of buildings, the lanterns. The actors' costumes also deserve applause, especially the characters in the opera, with all those fabrics and those strong face paints. Finally, a word for the wonderful cinematography, excellent opening credits and soundtrack.

Trailer

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Farewell My Concubine

Cast & Crew

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Cast

Leslie Cheung

Zhang Fengyi

Gong Li

Lü Qi

Ying Da

Ge You

Lei Han

Tong Di

Yin Zhi

Ma Mingwei

Box office

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