30TH ANNIVERSARY UNCUT 4K RESTORATION

“Appropriately operatic, Chen’s visually spectacular epic is sumptuous in every respect. Intelligent, enthralling, rhapsodic.”
– Geoff Andrew, Time Out

“As both a monumental piece of Chinese cinematic history and a lasting tribute to the special brilliance of its star, Farewell My Concubine is an essential viewing experience.”
– Lee Jutton, Film Inquiry

In Chen Kaige’s adaptation of the Lilian Lee novel, 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 Dieyi’s affections and marries a courtesan, Juxian (Gong Li), creating a dangerous, jealousy-filled romantic triangle.

Spanning 50 years from the early 20th century to the tumultuous Cultural Revolution, Kaige’s passionate, exquisitely shot film captures the vast historical scope of a changing country as well as the mesmerizing pageantry of the opera while also revealing the intimate and touching details of a unique, tender, heartrending love story.

In Mandarin with English subtitles. Director: Chen Kaige (China/Hong Kong 1993) 170 min.

MONDAY- & TUESDAY • 6:30 -Ends Tuesday!

$13.25 General | $9.75 Seniors & Youth | $7.75 CAFILM members