Farewell My Concubine

Movie Review: “Farewell My Concubine”

In Chen Kaige’s 1993 film, Farewell My Concubine, the director illustrates China’s political turmoil in the mid-twentieth century, while following the individuals of a Beijing opera troupe. The film starts off with a woman who begs that her six-fingered son join the opera troupe, where he can stay and train with the hopes of becoming a prominent actor. However, she was met with a lot of opposition as Master Guan, the head of the opera troupe, told her that her son’s deformity would scare off people and thus, hinder any success the troupe could attain. This led her to cut off her son’s extra finger, as she becomes so desperate to find her son an alternative life outside of the brothels.

This marked the beginning of Douzi’s life, as he faced the demanding work and training required for the ancient art of Chinese opera. Characterized as frail and soft spoken, Douzi trained for female roles and eventually played the part of a concubine, while his childhood friend, Shitou, played the masculine role of a King on stage. During this time, it was believed that every man has a ‘will’ or skill in which they must devote themselves to. In this case, acting was their craft that they were required to perfect and master. Therefore, training for the opera was demanding and the boys were often faced with severe punishments if they were to disobey. As the film continues, viewers get to see in-depth relationship that grows between Douzi and Shitou, from when they were boys to when they are men.

Overtime, the boys become big Beijing opera stars, changing their names to Dieyi (Douzi) and Xiaolou (Shitou). Slowly, Dieyi begins to have romantic feelings for Xiaolou but the feelings are not mutual. Thus, when Xiaolou chooses to marry Juxian, a courtesan who is later accused of being a prostitute, Dieyi is filled with distraught and anger. Despite the on-going political struggles China was going through, the friendship between Dieyi and Xiaolou continued to hold true and strong. For example, when Japan invaded and