Farewell China

Starring:Maggie Cheung, Hayley Man, Tony Leung Ka Fai
Director: Clara Law
Studio: Tai Seng
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com essential video

The panorama of 20th-century Chinese history swirls past two men, celebrated actors with their own decidedly specialized view of things. We first observe their lives as children at the Peking Opera training school, a brutal and demanding arena for future actors. While still in training, the effeminate Douzi is chosen to play the transvestite role and the masculine Shitou is chosen to play the royal role in a ritualized play about a king and a concubine. The actors are so good at this performance that they become identified with these roles for their entire careers; through World War II, through the takeover by the Communists, through the insanity of the Cultural Revolution, they are known for their famous parts. Leslie Cheung and Zhang Fengyi are powerful as the two men, and Gong Li (the beautiful leading lady of Raise the Red Lantern) plays the wife of the latter. The movie may be stronger on good old-fashioned melodrama than on profound conclusions, but boy, does it fill up the eyes. The director is Chen Kaige, one of the most talented members of China's "Fifth Generation" of filmmakers, whose daring subject matter (and sometimes bald international ambitions) have often irked the Chinese government. Indeed, though Farewell My Concubine shared the top prize at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival and snagged two Oscar nominations, it had difficulty gaining official approval from China. --Robert Horton

Description

Critically acclaimed as one of the best films of the year, this seductive, award-winning triumph captivated moviegoers the world over. It's the compelling tale of two lifelong friends unexpectedly caught in a passionate love triangle with the woman who comes between them! Academy Award(R)-nominated, FAREWELL MY CONCUBINE (1993 -- Best Foreign Language Film) earned the Golden Globe as Best Foreign Film in addition to claiming Best Picture honors at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival! Packed with vivid, provocative imagery throughout, this sensual story of love and betrayal is the hot and exotic must-see movie of the year!

Customer Reviews:

Epic on any scale.......2007-06-11

Having been told for a few years that this is a film I "must see", I finally decided to check it out.
As others have noted, this film is long; my copy clocks in at 172 minutes. However, I did find that any section was weak or dragged on. For me, it was the brilliant performance by Leslie Cheung as Cheng that kept the film centered. As the violent political atmosphere of China from 1924-1977 throws danger and traps in his path, Cheng clings to and embodies the spirit of the opera. His obsessive nature serves him on his climb to fame and in the end destroys him. Cheung's performance is incredible and I will certainly be watching more of his films.
I thought Gong Li's performance was impressive as well. With one look, she is able to convey crushing disappointment and hopelessness. It is heart wrenching.
I thought Zhang Fengyi's Xiaolou was a little uneven. His transformation from beginning to end rang a little false and, from what I could understand, didn't quite fit the "King & Concubine" theme running through the film. I did think, however that Cheng and Xiaolou were interesting contrasts and helped add that touch of melodrama.
Great film and one I will be watching again.

$9.99 English only subtitles.......2007-06-05

There are no Chinese subtitles for this Chinese film in this dvd edition. This film is still the director's best so far and from the opening scene of Leslie's assailed posture and his hero's cautious interacton with the unseen petty authority, I felt immediately sad. This is a good story and a well made film but it is also so Chinese with the added element of having the perspective of a Chinese outside of the Mainland, the author. In this way, the Chineseness of the film is more intense. I don't regret paying $7.50 for this film even though there are no Chinese subtitles or any special features whatsoever. This film deserves commentary and cast interviews.

good movie, but sad.......2007-05-16

This was a good movie, but sad. I think the acting in it was very well done. Its not something you want to watch everyday, highly depressing ending, but worth your time.

A Chinese "Gone with the Wind" Epic.......2007-05-14

Great epic saga set on the backdrop of the political and cultural upheavals of 20 century. Excellent but don't start this movie unless you fresh and prepared for a long show.

Not for everyone, but a good film..........2007-05-12

Since I watched this movie for Gong Li, I wasn't pleased that it took her a while to appear in the film. However, the story kept me interested as I waited for her. I can't lie and say that I didn't fast-forward some parts here and there that didn't seem terribly relevant to the plot, considering it's long running time overall. I was happily surprised by the bond/love shared by the two male characters since childhood. When you read that there's a love triangle and you see that there are two men and one woman, one usually assumes that both men will be in love with her. So again, I was pleasantly surprised with that angle of the film. And being a gay-rights activist, I enjoyed the hints of homosexuality in the movie (though I would've liked to see even more of it). Anyway, the movie's filled with history and emotions. I'd watch it again.

Average customer rating:

Farewell China
Starring: Hayley Man , Maggie Cheung , and Tony Leung Ka Fai
Director: Clara Law
Manufacturer: Tai Seng
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00008V5SB
Release Date: 2003-05-20

Amazon.com

Tony Leung Kar-fai tracks his missing expatriate wife (Maggie Cheung) from Hong Kong to New York City, which is depicted simply as an urban sewer in this gratingly arch and pretentious 1990 melodrama, written and directed by the ambitious young director Clara Law (The Reincarnation of Golden Lotus). Every specific detail of the horrors of New York rings luridly false, and Maggie Cheung, who was just about perfect in Ann Hui's expat heart-tugger Song of the Exile, embarrasses herself. In fairness, no actress on earth could make something convincingly human out of the character she has been asked to play, a victim whose personality has been split down the middle by the pressures of her icky new environment. One half is a demure Chinese village girl, the other a borderline whore, a role she's forced to assume in order to survive in the Gotham Inferno. As he continues his search, Leung picks up a standard-issue eccentric sidekick, a streetwise, gum-popping Americanized Chinese girl (Hayley Man as a stereotyped punk rocker). The fatal finale (in the shadow of a papier-mâché copy of Tiananmen Square's Goddess of Democracy) is only the most egregious of the movie's overblown symbolic gestures. --David Chute

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