Farewell My Concubine: A Queer Film Classic

by Helen Hok-sze Leung

A Queer Film a consideration of Chen Kaige's acclaimed 1992 film set in the mid-twentieth century about two male Peking opera stars and the woman who comes between them, all set against the political turmoil of a China in transition. The film's treatment of gender performance and homosexuality was a first in Chinese cinema, and the subject of much controversy there. The movie, which helped to bring contemporary Chinese films onto the world stage, won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival (the first Chinese film to do so), and it was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Genres: Queer, Film

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 10, 2010

Reviews

[Natalie]

just crying over the last bit with the transcript of Leslie Cheung's lecture

[Evan Dewangga · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Farewell My Concubine" is a perfect movie for me. As I first watched it in my college years, I get moved by all its acting, story, emotion, it's all just the definition of beauty. Then I watched it again the next day after my first screening, my feelings just the same, a tour de force of drama and Chinese history. Long after that, in my flight from China back to my hometown of Indonesia, I watched this movie for the third time, and after that I'm hungry for more explanation about "Farewell My Concubine". I couldn't say farewell to this movie that's why I read this book.

Even though the series is called "A Queer Film Classic", I found much more than gender studies perspective while reading this book. This book help me to contextualize "Farewell My Concubine" place in Chinese culture and cinema history. From the writing of its novel by Lilian Lee, through the casting of Leslie Cheung, as well as the prior filmography of Chen Kaige, and how it defines the Chinese culture (Mainland China, Taiwan, Hongkong, and their difficult relationship) as a whole.

One thing I love the most, is that I get to experience more closely how the regime changing happened so fast yet so similar between different regime who rule China.

"Every change in political regime in the film is heralded by a scene in which an army marches through the streets. The public space previously filled with vendors, children, and street performers is suddenly transformed by the orderly military rhythm of an occupying or liberating (depending on where one stands politically) army. Such orderliness ironically also presages a dissolution into chaos, which the film signifies through the disruption of theater space."

The aftermath of this movies, its lasting impact is intertwined with real life as the life and death of Leslie Cheung mirrors Dieyi.

“Did Leslie Cheung bring Dieyi to life, or did Dieyi become reincarnated in Cheung?”

Leslie Cheung's lecture at the end of this book sums up the movies sentiment neatly. As the spirit of Cheung and Dieyi is eternal, so does this movie.

"A film sometimes has more lives than the proverbial cat." And this movie will live rent-free in my mind and my heart, maybe forever.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent look at the film, with special attention paid to issues of sexuality and gender. Having now read two of the books from the Queer Films Classics series, I'm very impressed so far.

[Julz · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 rounding up

This gave me exactly the historical and cultural context I needed. I'm impressed by the discussion of not only sexuality but also gender, both in a historical context and how the perspective of the film shifted in the public eye after Leslie Cheung's death. It allowed me to re-contextualize a few scenes from the film that left me confused and deepened my understanding of small details, themes, and symbolism that I missed.

I wish this book was about double the length, and I feel like to really discuss all the symbolism another hundred pages would be necessary. Knocking off a half star because there wasn't enough discussion on Juxian.

Next time I watch it, all of these small pieces will come together to make the whole film even more beautiful and tragic.

Some of my favorite quotes below.


"All who have wielded power over Dieyi have had that power turned back against them: the old eunuch Zhang has become a beggar and his residence turned into a coffin shop; Aoki does not survive the war; Master Yuan is executed by the Communists; and finally, Xiao Si'er will be struggled against by Red Guards. In this light, Dieyi is not the lone victim of oppression; he simply lives in a time of relentless cyclical violence."

"[Dieyi]'s love for Xiaolou can find no viable expression except through the highly gendered and idealized terms of the opera... Because he can only express himself in those terms, Dieyi now appears, within our contemporary discourse of gay identity, suspiciously anachronistic and 'incorrect.' From where he stands, Dieyi has no place in the past, present, or future. While it has been remarked that xianggong 'did not make it into the 20th century' it seems to me that someone like Dieyi never made it into history at all."

[feux d'artifice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting film theory and queer theory takes on the movie with very thoughtful analysis

[Carlita · Rating 5 out of 5]

el ultimo capitulo sobre leslie vale tio top cosas que no necesitaba leer