ifinallygotachancetosee"farewellmyconcubine."i'dbeenanxioustoseeitsinceitsinitialreleasein1993.itsurprisedmeinitsdepthandtechnicalskill.

threepointsmakethisfilmoutstanding.thefirstisthetechnicalskillofthedirectorandtheluscioustasteofthedirectorofphotography.theentirefilmisafeastfortheeyes,takingfulladvantageofelaboratecostumesandexoticlocations.thesecondstrengthisintheactualstorytelling.theplotisafascinatingtragedy,itfeelsalmostshakespearean.theactingisnothingshortofincredible.someofchina'sfinestactorsdemonstratetheirabilitytocarryastorythatcovers52years.normally,thesetwostrengthsalonewouldbereasonenoughtoseeafilm,but"farewellmyconcubine"succeedsinsatisfyingonemorecategory(thebainofanyepic):historicalaccuracy.

"farewellmyconcubine"isexceptionallyaccurateinportrayingthemonumentalchangesthatweresweepingchinaatthetime.thefilmdoesn'tjusttreattheseeventsasbackgroundevents,butdragsthemrightintotheplotandpinsthecharactersintotheirsurroundings.thisisinterestingwhenyouconsiderthatthestorytakesplaceinthepekingopera,notthemostlikelyplacefortheseeventstohaveeffect.instead,asweseethenewchinaemerge,wewatchthesevestigesofoldsocietyfall,andtheworkofallinvolvedmakethistransitionanachievementtobehold.thepowerofthisfilmwasnotmissedbychinesecensorswhobanned,removed,andthenbannedthefilmagainseveraltimesover-debatingwhetherornotitsartisticbrilliancewasworthsubversiveportrayalsofsuicideandhomosexuality.unlike"thelastemperor,"thisfilmwasmadebychinesefilmmakersandisintunewithitssubject.irecommendthisfilmhighly!

asonelastnote,theversionisawwasadvdcontainingtheoriginal170minuteversionofthefilm,initswide-screensplendor.fromwhatiunderstand,theshorterversionsreleasedinternationallydeletedandshortenedsomeoperascenesforfearthattheywouldbelostonwesternaudiences.havingnopriorexperiencewithanypekingopera,ifoundthescenesfascinatingandintegraltoappreciatingtheentirestory.spendtheextratimeifyoucan.