Farewell My Concubine
dir. Chen Kaige · 1993
The struggle for identity and connection in the face of societal change reveals the complexities of love and loyalty.
Feature
Artistic Obsession
Mood
Melancholic / Contemplative
Look
lush cinematography with rich colors, ornate set designs reflecting traditional Chinese opera
Structure
nonlinear storytelling with time shifts
Plot
Two boys meet at an opera training school in Peking in 1924. Their resulting friendship will span nearly 70 years and endure some of the most troublesome times in China's history.
Why watch
Experience a profound journey through love, loss, and identity in "Farewell My Concubine," where the art of Peking opera mirrors the tumultuous history of 20th-century China, exploring the depths of friendship and the complexity of self amidst societal upheaval.
Cultural context
Chinese Cultural Revolutiontraditional Peking operaLGBTQ+ themes in historical contextgender roles in society