An intriguing tale, with a fascinating chunk of modern Chinese history serving as the background. Spanning over 50 years, the film tells about the ups and downs of a traditional Peking Opera troupe, and its two stars, from 1924 to 1977. Not only do we see the various political events of the time, but also how the traditional opera and its stars are treated during different eras.
The two stars, Dieyi and Xiaolou, are brought up and trained to play specific roles - that of concubine and king respectively - in a famous play. Dieyi (Douzi) is trained, or should I say, forced to behave, sing, move and dance like a girl, from a very young age. The two of them share a unique and close bond, and this balance gets affected when a woman, Juxian, enters the picture. Their political naiveté get them into many problems, but it's their properly unresolved love triangle that causes more trouble.
The lines between fact and fiction are blurred when we realise the similarities between the play and their actual lives. Dieyi's devotion to opera and Xiaolou are as strong as the concubine's devotion to the king. (The lines are blurred even more when Leslie Cheung, bisexual himself, takes his life in 2003) The end is inevitable, as we realise while the story progresses, but it's reached with proper momentum and after an intriguing chain of events.
The acting by the three leads is really terrific. Leslie Cheung as the female-role playing opera star who's completely devoted to his art, Fengyi Zhang as a talented and playful man who can easily separate his private and work lives, and Gong Li as the prostitute-turned-wife whose shades of determination and compassion keeps us from not having a fixed view of her character. With Chen Kaige's talented direction and Gu Changwei's spectacular cinematography, the movie has many colourful and memorable scenes.
I really liked the movie, and wasn't bored for a single second. The movie deals with so many interesting themes - Modern Chinese history, sexuality, art and its reception, devotion and passion - but yet it somehow makes me feel that it had the potential to be much more compelling. Other than the political events, the characters could have been explored a little more.
The two stars, Dieyi and Xiaolou, are brought up and trained to play specific roles - that of concubine and king respectively - in a famous play. Dieyi (Douzi) is trained, or should I say, forced to behave, sing, move and dance like a girl, from a very young age. The two of them share a unique and close bond, and this balance gets affected when a woman, Juxian, enters the picture. Their political naiveté get them into many problems, but it's their properly unresolved love triangle that causes more trouble.
The lines between fact and fiction are blurred when we realise the similarities between the play and their actual lives. Dieyi's devotion to opera and Xiaolou are as strong as the concubine's devotion to the king. (The lines are blurred even more when Leslie Cheung, bisexual himself, takes his life in 2003) The end is inevitable, as we realise while the story progresses, but it's reached with proper momentum and after an intriguing chain of events.
The acting by the three leads is really terrific. Leslie Cheung as the female-role playing opera star who's completely devoted to his art, Fengyi Zhang as a talented and playful man who can easily separate his private and work lives, and Gong Li as the prostitute-turned-wife whose shades of determination and compassion keeps us from not having a fixed view of her character. With Chen Kaige's talented direction and Gu Changwei's spectacular cinematography, the movie has many colourful and memorable scenes.
I really liked the movie, and wasn't bored for a single second. The movie deals with so many interesting themes - Modern Chinese history, sexuality, art and its reception, devotion and passion - but yet it somehow makes me feel that it had the potential to be much more compelling. Other than the political events, the characters could have been explored a little more.