Synopsis
In celebration of its 30th anniversary, BACCS Cinema will screen a new 4K restoration of Chen Kaige’s uncut classic, Farewell My Concubine, 20 minutes longer than Harvey “Scissorhands” Weinstein’s original release.
Cheng Dieyi (Leslie Cheung) and Duan Xiaolou (Zhang Fengyi) grow up enduring the harsh training of the Peking Opera Academy, where instructors regularly beat the students to instill in them the discipline needed to master the complex physical and vocal techniques of this ancient art. As the two boys mature, they develop complementary talents: Dieyi, with his fine, delicate features, assumes the female roles while Xiaolou plays masculine warlords. Their dramatic identities become real for Dieyi when he falls in love with Xiaolou, who fails to fully reciprocate his affections and marries a courtesan, Juxian (Gong Li), creating a dangerous, jealousy-filled romantic triangle.
Hailed as a “cultural achievement” (The New York Times) and widely considered one of the most important motion pictures ever made, Farewell My Concubine is a “gorgeous, intoxicating epic” (Los Angeles Times) that is both “visually spectacular” and “sumptuous in every respect” (Time Out). Spanning 50 years from the early 20th century to the tumultuous Cultural Revolution, Chen Kaige’s passionate, exquisitely shot film captures the vast historical scope of a changing country while revealing the intimate and touching details of a unique, tender, heartrending love story.
Awards
- Palme d’Or at Cannes Film Festival (only Chinese-language film to win)
- Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film
- Selected as one of the “100 Best Films in Global History” by TIME Magazine
Film Information
- Director: Chen Kaige
- Starring: Leslie Cheung, Gong Li, Zhang Fengyi, Ge You
- Duration: 171 minutes
- Language: Mandarin with English subtitles
- IMDB: imdb.com/title/tt0106332
Co-presented by Roxie Theater, San Francisco.