User:Jarvanc/Farewell My Concubine (film)

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The movie Farewell My Concubine is quite interesting with the main characters being the stars of Peking Opera. The drama movie was directed and presented by Chen Kaige back in 1993. Perking Opera unusualness has been explored as both part of the cultural life of the Chinese people and a mirror of life’s ideologies where everyone is acting. The movie is an influential piece of art featuring friendships, betrayal and the consequences of forbidden love. Farewell My Concubine’s plot follows the two opera stars in Beijing over years as change occurs in China during the twentieth’ century that is from the nationalists era to the rule of Chairman Mao. As these changes occur, the movie reveals the ways in which people’s culture got affected by political disturbances especially in relation to gender identity.

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"Farewell My Concubine" is a period film that combines the ups and downs of modern history with a profound portrayal of human nature. The film's era is closely related to politics, and is distinctly divided into the old and new eras, and in more detail into eight stages: the Beiyang period, the period of the Communist split, the period of Japanese rule, the period of the civil war, the early liberation period, the period of construction, the period of the Cultural Revolution, and the period after reform and opening up(Lau, 1995). In terms of timeline, Cheng Dieyi and Duan Xiaolou began their apprenticeship in Beijing opera in the late Qing Dynasty, and what they were given was the most orthodox Beijing opera culture, which they had to learn with great effort and training. The education they receive is also the most original and pure apprenticeship education. Strict teachers produced high apprentices, all kinds of corporal punishment, and even some apprentices fled by death. This cruel training, which was injected into the blood, also made the role of Yu Ji completely integrated into Cheng Dieyi's personal thoughts, unable to distinguish between acting and real life, including the spiritual attachment to the elder brother Duan Xiaolou. After ten years of hard training, Cheng Dieyi became a great actor in the theater industry. For Cheng Dieyi, what he enjoyed every time he performed was not only the cheers and shouts of the audience, but also the fact that he was completely absorbed into the character of Yu Ji, and was a complete theater buff. Between love and hate, most of the time, he pinned Yu Ji's attachment to the overlord Xiang Yu on his big brother. During the anti-Japanese period, he didn't have the hard backbone to refuse, but acted as usual. Aoki knew the theater and was a kind of confidant to him, because he was concerned more with the theater itself. He also thought it was a good thing that Peking Opera could be spread to Japan through this. For the sake of his obsession with Peking Opera, Cheng Dieyi could forget his family and country and sing for the Japanese who knew the opera, and even submit to Yuan Shiqing who was obsessed with the opera. For him, these people at least for the Peking Opera or recognized and respected. But to the people's time, the hegemon Duan Xiaolou has completely succumbed to this personal can not change the times, take off the costume to live a small life in the city. Cheng Dieyi, on the other hand, lived forever in the play and under the shadow of Yu Ji. The Cultural Revolution completely destroyed their illusion of Farewell My Concubine and Peking Opera. Thousands of years of tradition also went up in smoke. Sad and lamentable! In terms of character portrayal, the human nature of different eras is also vividly shown in this play. Everyone has his own destiny, and cannot change the times, but can only conform to them. Like Cheng Dieyi, the turbulent times hit his ideals and principles again and again, but still did not change his original intention, and eventually only with the play and the end. For Duan Xiaolou, his character is as rigid as the king, but in front of the advancing times, he can only compromise and submit again and again, leaving behind regrets. This is the "Farewell My Concubine" to create a kind of, people can not forget the long time of despair and sadness.

There exists a love triangle between the reformed prostitute Juxian and Cheng Die Yi as well as Duan Xiao. Unfortunately this intense story ends tragically when Die Yi gets confused and cannot tell the difference between the real world and his passion for art which makes him commit suicide. The movie must have been perceived as controversial since it features gay characters considering that back then engaging in homosexuality was viewed as a serious taboo and a criminal offense. By Die Yi suffering rejection due to his sexual orientation, the movie director successfully shows how stigma and prejudices negatively impacts victims. Every human being has an intrinsic need for acceptance and a sense of belonging which when not realized affects mental health where suicide is possible outcome as in the case of Die Yi.

Die Yi’s character presents as a paradox. He acts as a woman on stage and later becomes obsessively in love with his stage husband Duan Xiao. The sword of the concubine represents the passion and misfortunes in his life. After Xiao commits to Juxian, Die Yi is very infuriated and ends up giving in to the patron who had been courting him with the aim of getting the old stage sword. Ironically only Juxian his rival recognizes the sword’s value. In fact, during the Cultural Revolution, Juxian retrieves the sword from fire due to the recognition that it is Die Yi’s life. The story of three shows how friendships and betrayal play out in real life.

With regards to politics, the movie portrays the difficulties encountered by the Chinese people at the time of Japanese occupation and the traumatic experiences associated with Cultural Revolution. While there is acknowledgement of how the old regime caused suffering, the movie director paints a dissatisfying view of the communist regime. Betrayal is evident in the plot. For instance, there are two close friends (Xiaolou and Diaeyi) who make a decision to adopt Xiao Si a young man who later becomes a Red guard acting as an informant of the political offences committed by his benefactors.

In summary, the movie Farewell My Concubine is multidimensional and can be analysed from various perspectives. Nevertheless, Chen Kaige focused on combining historical background of the events described there in with the history of Perking Opera symbolizing the real life that presents many challenges, emotional variations and passions. The main characters are constantly trying to find the right ways but like in real life at times it may end up in tragedy as in the case of Die Yi.