Cheap Farewell My Concubine (DVD) (Kaige Chen) Price

Related Products

Customer Reviews of Farewell My Concubine

Provocative feast for the eyes
This movie is a must see for sinophiles. It captures the joy and pain of a lifelong bond between two old friends, their rise to fame as Beijing Opera stars, and the questions and hardships that arise when love enters their lives. Set against the changing political landscape of 20th century China, this film offers an interesting cultural perspective on China's evolution from an artist's point of view, and what one had to do in order to survive. Provocative plotline including questions of homosexuality and righteousness of regime caused the film to be censored in China. A lengthy offering (almost three hours in duration), which also leaves some questions unanswered upon completion. Nevertheless a worthwhile and rewarding watch.

An original film that stands alone!
You will be jaded and pleasantly occupied with this film. Except for it being three hours, it will also touch and haunt you. This movie did all that to me after watching it last night on DVD. Believe me, this is no formulaic, effective-but-conventional tearjerker that you'd cry over only when your brain is on vacation. This movie moves BECAUSE of the intellect--along with intuition. The opening stanzas to this extended score cement the film into the viewer's memory regardless of the pitfalls that would follow. The early scenes encompassing the opera school for boys could stand alone as worthy cinema. The first half is genuine cinema, a riveting drama. The second half is thick with contrived plot devices used to usher in historical pieces. <
> <
>In terms of performance, the three adult leads were adequate. Leslie Cheung was least convincing. His mannerisms, his baby face, his falsetto voice "mimicked" a man at odds with his gender and sexuality but I was not completely convinced that there was much inner turmoil within his character. He seemed to use the opium scenes and scenes of overt jealousy towards GongLi's character as psychological crutches, as though he could not realistically play the part of tortured soul unless he was high on drugs or the object of his resentment was directly in front of him. He seemed to sleepwalk through the part as though caught up in a dream state. The character was supposed to literally inhabit the concubine he portrayed. This did not come across well for me. When I reflect upon the character of Dieyi, I recall the boy in the first half and not the adult portrayed by Cheung. The role of Xialou was least demanding and the actor who played him was sufficient to the part. Why he would so easily betroth himself to a former prostitute would have been better conveyed if a stronger sense of suffocation was presented with respects to his relationship with Dieyi. <
> <
>GongLi as the former prostitute is strongest in the movie, excluding the exceptional performance by the child actor who played the young Dieyi. GongLi had plenty of dichotomies and contradictions to play with and she played them well. Her character is simple yet astute, wanting a bland home life yet smartly cornering other characters into her rescuing schemes. She wants to be subservient to Xialou and yet she is firm with him and actually dictates his actions at certain points. She is the hero of the movie, devising schemes that would save both male leads from execution or from prison. There is so much meaning in this story. All in all, one of the most memorable and substantive movie I've ever seen in my life. Highly recommended. <
>