Available from: filmfestival.wm.edu
Last Accessed 16/08/2014
"Farewell My Concubine" is two films at once: An epic spanning a half century of modern Chinese history, and a melodrama about life backstage at the famed Peking Opera. The idea of viewing modern China through the eyes of two of the opera's stars would not, at first, seem logical: How could the birth pangs of a developing nation have much in common with the death pangs of an ancient and ritualistic art form? And yet the film flows with such urgency that all its connections seem logical. And it is filmed with such visual splendor that possible objections are swept aside." - Film Critic Roger Ebert, 1993
Farewell My Concubine remains, to this date, the only Chinese-language film to win the Cannes Palme d'Or.
What does it take to become a star?
The hearts of the audience are captured when Dieyi weeps and asks, 'What does it take to become a star'. The two boys are overwhelmed by the stage performance: they see success and dreams, but also the reality of hard work and determination.
The setting of the scene creates a sense of heaviness, as the background is almost cloudy, it creates an almost dream-like atmosphere which refers to the feelings of the boys at this moment. The soft focus of the background illuminates the actors, forcing the audience to focus on the extravagant costume and makeup.
You can see from the screenshot above that the makeup is striking, the makeup of the 'king' in the play. The black around the eyes and detail on the forehead gives the character an unfaltering emotion of anger, wrath and discontent.
As already discussed, the colours in the film change in order to portray a certain mood or emotion. In this scene Juxian jumps off a balcony after being harassed by a group of disorderly men. The colour red in this scene is significant. Bright red is like a visual caffeine...make you aggressive, anxious, or compulsive* and in this scene, the red plays on the annoyance of the men and the dangerous act of jumping off the balcony.
I'm just an actor playing the king, you really are the yuji.
In the heartbreaking scene where Xiaolou announces his engagement to Juxian, we can see the pain inflicted upon Dieyi - which is magnified when Xiaolou doesn't even seem to see or care. Dieyi is further humiliated when he is described as a true Yuji, which hugely demasculinizes him. In Chinese opera, women were orginally forbidden to act, therefore, yuji is a term used to describe female impersonation. Dieyi, however, fails to acknowledge the boundary between himself and the role he plays, he makes every attempt to lose himself in the world of Opera, fixated on the image of Yuji. A female mask conceals Dieyi's male identity. When costume becomes self and self becomes costume, the distinction between player and role disappears; outer appearance symbolises inner desire.**
His painted face is beautiful, we can see the femininity that has been created, feline eyes, red lips and a jewelled headpiece, the black contrasts with the white base, building on the illusion of a mask.
Master said, only you can make yourself a great actor.
When the troupe is disbanded after Master Guan's sudden death, Xiaolou and Dieyi find a student who is unwilling to quit and no-where else to go. This is a scene of grief, traditionally, the Chinese used the colour white to symbolise death and red to symbolise good fortune, joy and happiness - hence why traditional weddings were in red. The white in this scene, seems to mourn the break up of the troupe rather than the death of Master Guan.
Everyone's here for the opera..
This is the scene of the tragic riot at the opera. We can see that Dieyi is gowned in a beautiful yellow cape, the Chinese see the colour yellow as most beautiful and prestigious, however, in this scene Dieyi is not given respect. As the soldiers mount the stage to attack him, Xiaolou tries to settle the disturbance as Dieyi takes cover behind curtains. Though these actions we can see that Xiaolou and Dieyi are opposites, one strong and courageous and the other weak and fearful - which are also represented by their different costumes and roles.
In this particular scene, the actors really stand out amongst the utilitarian clothing of the soldiers creating a definite contrast.
Even the communists need opera
As discussed, the colour red is used as a symbol of joy and happiness, here, in this scene Xiaolou and Dieyi are promised to flourish by the opera manager even through the uprising of the Communists.
I am by nature a boy...not a girl
In the final scene of the film, it is revealed that Dieyi is a homosexual, however, it is completely normal for a heterosexual to play his role. Homosexuality is a very sensitive issue in China, it's forbidden, for Chen Dieyi, you can imagine how painful it is to survive. As a result, Dieyi chooses to end his life on stage with Xiaolou's sword. This scene is very dimly lit, perhaps foreshadowing the tragic end to Dieyi, the colours however, remain vibrant and beautiful, a reminder to the audience that, although the story is pain-ridden, Chinese Opera is beautiful and will continue to be no matter the ending.
My thoughts..
This film has opened my eyes on the art of Chinese Opera, not only the responsibilities that come with it but the history and events that have challenged and changed it. The makeup is truly art and shows how it can transform or represent an individual.
References/Bibliography
Books:
*Patti Bellantoni, If It's Purple Someones Gonna Die, pg. 3
**Shuquin Cui, Women Through The Lens: Gender And Nation In a Century Of Chinese Cinema, pg 157
Websites:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farewell_My_Concubine_(film)
http://bombmagazine.org/article/1698/chen-kaige
http://wjxu.wordpress.com/film-review-farewell-my-concubine/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_in_Chinese_culture
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