Rating: 
Summary: A fallen chinese super star......
Review: Leslie Cheung was suicided(brodie) at 2003/4/1 18:45 in MANDARIN ORCHARD HOTEL,Hong-Kong(This is not an april fool joking).Aged 46. Farewell Leslie!! Farewell My Concubine is one of the Leslie's masterpiece. If you like Leslie,this is one of the must have list!!
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful Piece of Art
Review: This film is my favorite of all time! It deserves every award that it received. This is a film that truly classifies as art, and will go down in history as one of the great classics of film. While it is true that the childhood scenes are difficult to watch, the filmmakers were merely accurately portraying the treatment of the child opera stars in 1920's Beijing. What are we going to do, bury our heads in the sand and pretend history never happened? This is a beautiful, tragic tale of love and loss, and will do much to explain certain key elements of Chinese history. This is truly a thinking person's film. Watch it today!
Rating: 
Summary: Nasty Movie
Review: After watching Croaching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, I was told that this movie would be liken to that and richer, but I can not get past the first scenes. The molestation and deconstruction of the childredn left me feeling dirty. I would not advise anyone to see this movie.
Rating:
Summary: The best movie of all time?
Review: Whereas I know this may be a controversial claim to some (if not most) persons who read it, I consider this to be the best movie I have ever seen, bar none. Obviously, this, like all such preferences, is more subjective than not, but I do have my reasons. The historical sweep of this film is breathtaking, and encompasses some of the most important events which have ever happened in Asia, or in the world, for that matter. In addition, the acting is simply superb, without a missed moment, action or gesture throughout the whole of the film. The settings are striking, the costumes beautiful, the singing, though unsettling to Western ears, is haunting and resonates with the sadness and vigor of the story. Obviously, I could not recommend this movie more highly. I hope all who read this review enjoy this movie even half as much as I have; if so, you will still have had a satisfying evening in front of the small screen.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting story overwhelmed by "history"
Review: This film looks impressive. And I still enjoy watching it for the way Chen Kaige recreates the China of the early part of the last century. Some of the scenes at the beginning of the picture are very exciting and the children who play the two performers who will later grow up to be famous stage actors are very appealing. The two actors are trained as youths to act on stage together and a symbiotic relationship develops between them which is the real focal point of the film. The problem is that their story of mutual dependence becomes less interesting the older they get because Chen Kaige is not content to just tell their story instead he feels the need to interweave a lot of historical significance into their relationship. Every time there is a revolution or counter revolution in China the two actors relationship also goes throough a corresponding change. The link between the personal and professional lives of the two performers is well drawn and is plenty to keep our interest and Chen Kaige crafts this part of the film well but when he tries to draw connections between this partnership and wider historical circumstances the link just seems forced. In some instances the only reason you know something is happening outside the intimate circle of performers is because a note is flashed on the screen ie: "Communists surround Bejing". I think the story is weakened each time "history" intervenes. It would have been fine to acknowledge that great historical happenings were taking place during the span of these two actors story but the history overwhelms the story. As a result what should remain an intimate study becomes yet another generic look at Chinas cultural purges. This is unfortunate. Gong Li gets her picture on the cover of the film but she is only a supporting player in this film.
Rating:
Summary: A Beautiful, Beautiful Film
Review: After living in Taiwan for more than a decade, I only became interested in Chinese film during my last few years there. This is one film that really makes me regret that. In this film, Chen tells a gut-wrenching story of unrequited love, betrayal, and friendship. The story is triumphantly placed against the background of 20th century China, stumbling through decades of change and war. In a testament to his ability, Chen manages to masterfully weave the myriad themes and conflicts of the film into one striking tale. The clash between masculinity and femininity, love and friendship, ideology and survival--all of these and more are deftly engaged by Chen. Every aspect of this film is as near perfect as it could be. The cinematography is simply impeccable, which is really no surprise. Furthermore, the use of color is nothing short of brilliant. The splashes of red in the particularly dreary, gray scenes are particuarly striking. I really cannot give this film enough praise for its direction and cinematography. Chinese beauty Gong Li turns in a stellar performance, matched by those of Leslie Cheung and Zhang Fenyi. Over the years, I have become a Zhang Yimou devotee, and find myself enjoying his films the most. "Farewell My Concubine" is a notable exception. Of all the 5th generation Chinese filmmakers, Chen receives considerable acclaim. Watching this film will leave no doubt in your mind as to has considerable talent. I also highly recommend "Yellow Earth", a lesser-known Chen film (cinematography by Zhang Yimou) that is widely considered the first breakthrough film of modern-day Chinese cinema.
Rating: 
Summary: Private Tortures
Review: After a rather solemn start, we see a woman walking through a crowded street to show her son the street performers. Soon she has found a place for her son (Dieyi) in an Opera training school. Chen Dieyi (Leslie Cheung) learns to play the part of the famous concubine in Chinese history. He so embraces the part he can no longer tell the difference between reality and fantasy and falls in love with Xiaolou (Zhang Fengyi) who plays the part of the king. A brutal and demanding life at an Opera School is only the start in a cycle of abuse which continues through the main characters lives. If you enjoy sword fighting, skip this and watch Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon which I felt was much more beautiful in spirit. This movie is more obsessed with violence and the war in the hearts of the characters and the country. Complex emotions and a time of conflict set the stage for a battle of hearts and minds. The actors weave their way through life, half in fantasy and half in harsh reality. They absorb experiences and either developing character or falling to their passions. Chen Dieyi's obsession with the stage carries over into his every day life so much that it destroys everyone around him. Some of the lines are magnificent and very meaningful. I loved the idea of how you can search far and wide for something, only to find it by chance. The idea that each person is responsible for their own fate is also emphasized. From an aesthetic perspective, well worth seeing and the cinematography is superb. I you are looking for an inspirational experience, this will not take you there. It is highly dramatic, intensely emotional and includes themes of forbidden desires and reckless abandon. This movie is not filled with romantic love or even human kindness. Instead, forbidden love is the vehicle through which jealously makes its entrance. Where there is love, there is pain. This is a movie about the deepest desires, the most awful obsessions and the passions of the human heart. All the characters truly crave peace of mind and to be loved, yet they seem trapped in their world which is constantly changing around them for the worse. You are left with the feeling that as each actor took steps on stage, they also took steps in the direction of their own tragic fate. Poignant.
Rating:
Summary: A hauntingly beautiful movie
Review: Perhaps one of the most hauntingly beautiful movies ever made. The movie is an examination of the strength of bonds created early in youth and the beauty that results from it. Leslie Cheung and Zhang Fengyi are magnificent as the two operatic wonders, and Gong Li (the beautiful leading lady of Ju Dou) plays the wife of the Zhang Fengyi character. Aside from being drawn into the exacting world of Chinese Opera, we are treated to the warmth and depth of a culture more complex than we can imagine. Gong Li might play a small role but it is pivotal one and she does it with the range that she can draw from. The music is the movie's focal point and culture its vehicle. This movie, just like Ju Dou before it will last the test of time. Miguel Llora
Rating:
Summary: Farewell my concubine
Review: China had been through so many dramatic social transforms during the last century, from the feudal dynasty, the warlord period, the Japanese invasion, Republic of China, communism, Cultural Revolution to the current era. It took a lot of top talents from Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan to make the movie "Farewell my concubine", which brilliantly tells these transforms from the tragic story of two opera performers. "Farewell my concubine" is a famous story in the Chinese history. It tells that after the misrule of the Qin dynasty, two main forces rose to compete with each other for the reign. One is called Han, which is led by Liu Bang, a subtle and somewhat unfaithful man, and the other, Chu, led by the bold Xiang Yu (the King), who had peerless courage. In the decisive battle, the army of Chu was severely beaten. The King was trapped with remaining troop and little grain. The defeat was doomed. At the night, Hang's troop started to sing Chu's folk songs all around to make Chu's soldiers forgo their fighting spirit. Hearing the homeland's folk songs when the King was drinking, he sighed to his beloved concubine Yuji woefully: "My strength can uproot mountains; my courage is peerless in the country. But the fate is not on my side; even my black steed would not run away to save its life. What should I do with you?" Yuji danced for the King for the last time and sang in tears: "Hang's troops have taken the field, Chu's songs are all around. As your Highness's courage is over, why should this humble concubine value her own life any more?" The song ceased; she suddenly pulled out the King's sword and took her own life. On the following day, it came the final bout. The King, unable to accept the loss of honour, refused to cross the Great River to return to his homeland defeated. He fought to the last man and killed himself beside the river. The story of "Farewell my concubine" itself is just as famous as the war between Chu and Hang if not more. It has been recited again and again by generations through fictions, storytellers, operas, etc. The movie started from 1924 in Beijing. A whore took her son (Chen Dieyi) to the opera school to ask the instructor to keep her son. But the instructor refused as the boy had six fingers on his right hand. In the cold winter, his mother chopped off the extra finger when his hands are frozen to numb. From there started the doomed tragic life of the boy. For having a feminal figure, he was trained to act female roles. In the school, Chen formed a close friendship with his senior Duan Xiaolou, who was trained to perform masculine roles. Chen had a hard time to accept being female in the opera at first. After rigorous and sometimes torturous training, he was eventually forced to admit the female role, but also became mixed up between opera and the real life. After years, both of them became famous for the show "Farewell my concubine", in which Duan played the King and Chen played the concubine Yuji. But in real life, Chen was also obsessed by Duan, who had only brotherhood feeling towards him in return. Life went on well until the day Duan announced the decision to marry a whore named Juxian. Chen detested the matter for his dream of performing intimately with Duan for the whole life was ruined. He brought a real sword to Duan, telling him to perform separately in the future. During the Japanese occupation of Beijing, Duan was arrested after a conflict with the Japanese soldiers in a performance. Juxian begged Chen to save Duan and as an exchange she would go back to the whorehouse. After being released, Duan despised Chen for performing for the Japanese. Juxian also ate her own words and kept Duan from performing again. At that time Chen's fame was at the climax. But the emptiness in his heart led him to opium. When the old instructor came to know that the two separated, he summoned them and scolded harshly. Feeling shamed at the master's words, the two started perform together again. After the anti-Japanese war, the lives of opera performers were no better. Once the soldiers were making passes at Chen during a performance. Duan could not stand it and the soldiers beat the performers. Pregnant Juxian lost her child in the fight and Chen was arrested for performing for the Japanese before. Duan and Juxian tried to save Chen, but disheartened Chen refused to cooperate in the court. When Duan was helpless, the court surprisingly announced the suspension of the case for a high official secretly wanted Chen to perform for him. After the PRC was founded, during a performance for the PLA, Chen suddenly lost his voice due to overdose of opium. They apologized; expecting angry boos from the audience. But to their surprise, the PLA applauded warmly. They suddenly found that the whole world has changed overnight. Chen decided to quit opium and start a refreshed life. As they are consulted on the modern form of Beijing opera, Chen, over-obsessed by the opera, spoke out his opinions sharply on the shortcomings of the modern opera, for which he was regarded at backwardness at that time. Eventually he was dropped from the cast just before a performance, which broke the new dream he only just built up. In the Culture Revolution, Duan was forced to confess the "guilt" of Chen. Stricken by the shock, Chen revealed the "guilt" of Juxian. Duan was again forced to admit: "She is a whore. I don't love her." Juxian lost all hope and hang herself in her red bridal dress. After 11 years and the end of the 22-year separation on the stage, the two performers came back to an empty stage to perform "Farewell my concubine" one last time. Concubine Yuji: "Your Highness, please confer me with the sword". The King: "My concubine, no, don't take your life lightly." Chen pulled out the sword, the real blade that symbols the long relationship of the two, and ended his own tragic life in his broken dream.
Rating:
Summary: A Forrest Gump for 20th century China...only much better.
Review: Just like that movie, Farewell My Concubine takes the viewer through the roller coaster that was the 20th century. It presents a unique perspective on modern Chinese history and reminds everyone of the dramatic changes that took place as a whole (and the US thought it underwent changes???? ha!).
All that aside, the characters are far more rich and complex than that American movie, and ends in a far more dramatic way than anyone expected.
If Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is the only Chinese movie you've seen, you really must do yourself a favor by seeing this film.
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