In the movie, Cheng Dieyi is an actor with infinite stage scenery, absolute beauty and superb acting skills. But he is also a tragic figure distorted by the cruel social environment. He was beaten by the master because he sang the wrong sentence "I am a moth, but I am not a boy lang" When he really sang this sentence correctly, he was separated from others and his life fate changed. It is precisely because of living in such a bad social environment that Cheng Dieyi confused her gender, which led to the tragic ending. Cheng Dieyi is a single-minded person. Although Grandpa Yuan likes him very much, he only loves Duan Xiaolou. He once said to Duan Xiaolou, "It is agreed that a lifetime without a year, a month, a day and an hour is not a lifetime." When Duan Xiaolou cheated him into marrying someone else, he always did. He is a stubborn man, and he is not allowed to change his goals. After liberation, the costumes of Beijing opera were simple and uncomplicated, but he would rather be caught than maintain the costumes of traditional Beijing opera. He is a simple man. He is credulous. Daisy fairy only said perfunctory words to save Xiao Lou. He is also convinced that he is singing for the Japanese, regardless of war or nationality. He just wants to sing to people who know the drama. Cheng Dieyi is the soul of the whole movie. In him, we see both the beauty of ideal and the cruelty of reality.
Duan Xiaolou is also a famous stage actor. Unlike Cheng Dieyi, his tricks are obviously divorced from reality. When he leaves the stage, he can do whatever he wants and even marry a prostitute as his wife. Duan Xiaolou is an enthusiastic person. When adzuki bean is rejected by everyone, only he is willing to care about protecting adzuki bean. Seeing that Juxian was bullied in a brothel, he went forward to rescue him regardless of the consequences, and even married Juxian, which shows that he is an upright man. His simplicity is reflected in his attitude towards people. Whether Ju Xian or Die Yi is angry or happy, he always smiles and never gets angry easily. On the other hand, he doesn't care whether the other side is Japanese or Kuomintang, no matter how big or small the other side is, he doesn't care about anything. He rushed up and hit indiscriminately, regardless of the consequences. So he also has the reckless and impulsive nature of northern men. Later, he exposed Die Yi and Ju Xian to save himself, but it also came down to the cruel social reality and changed human nature.
Juxian is a typical representative of women in the old society. Although she was born in the old society and was a despised prostitute, she was bold, daring to love and hate. She dares to speak for herself, to show her face in the old society and to control her own destiny. She is both clever and sophisticated. Do things tactfully, neither humble nor supercilious. In her own way, she made Duan Xiaolou fulfill her promise and married her. When others were helpless, she made Master Yuan willing to save Cheng Dieyi. She decided that as long as there was Cheng Dieyi, Duan Xiaolou would not have a good life, and the condition for her rescue of Cheng Dieyi was that they cut off contacts. She can deal with any kind of people, whether it's brothels, theaters or power. So she is a woman with calculation and means. While helping Dieyi quit smoking, she lovingly held Dieyi, whose life was worse than death, and let us see her loving side. Juxian's greatest wish is to live a good life with Duan Xiaolou, and she has been working hard for it. However, such a small wish has not come true. She is a person who can integrate into society, but society won't let her integrate.
At the beginning of the film, flashback is the structure. 1997, the cultural revolution ended, and then the audience was pulled back to the old society by the way of fading light. In the process of plot development, it is in chronological order. From the period of Beiyang warlord, the early July 7th Incident, the Japanese surrender, the liberation of China, and before and after the Cultural Revolution, the development of this period is described in turn. This film takes the characters as the center and unfolds the plot according to the characters' personalities and activities.
Contradictions run through the whole film. The first is the contradiction between Xiao Lou, Die Yi and Master. There is no contradiction between Xiao Lou and Master, but Master insults Butterfly Clothes because she often sings wrong words. At this time, Xiao Lou stopped Master from helping Butterfly Clothes, and had a conflict with Master. This also paved the way for Dieyi to have feelings for the small building. Secondly, the contradiction between Butterfly Clothes and Juxian. Dieyi always loved Xiao Lou, but in the end Xiao Lou married Juxian, and Juxian and Dieyi both loved Xiao Lou, which led to the contradiction between Dieyi and Juxian and the rival relationship between them. There is a contradiction between Butterfly Clothes and Xiao Lou again. They grew up together. Die Yi thought Xiao Lou knew what he was thinking, but in fact Xiao Lou didn't. Dieyi always hoped that Xiao Lou and herself could be loyal to each other, but Xiao Lou married Juxian, which made the relationship between Dieyi and Xiao Lou rigid and did not understand each other. Another contradiction in the film is the contradiction between these characters and social reality. Some violent factors changed Dieyi's character, Xiao Lou's humanity and Juxian's suicide. The protagonists have been struggling in the cruel social reality, and finally they survived tenaciously and died unyieldingly. It also proves to us that reality and ideal really cannot coexist.
Farewell My Concubine revolves around the tragic stories of Cheng Dieyi, Duan Xiaolou and Juxian in the old society. One of the themes of expression is cultural thinking. Peking Opera is the quintessence of our country, and Cheng Dieyi's role as an actor is thought-provoking. On the one hand, it satisfies the public's aesthetic standards, on the other hand, the role of male Dan is easily discriminated against and not understood. The second topic is the discussion about homosexuality. China is a conservative country and has always been sensitive to the topic of homosexuality. However, homosexuality is not uncommon in today's society. This film can advocate that people should respect, understand and tolerate homosexuality. The third theme is the discussion between ideal and reality. Through the portrayal of the role of Cheng Dieyi, the film successfully expresses the theme that ideal and reality cannot be confused, and no matter how beautiful the ideal is, it cannot exclude reality. The fourth theme is the promotion process of human beings in social development and the problems in the evolution of human nature. At the end of the film, Duan Xiaolou's human nature changed, but he survived the continuous development of society, that is, the society changed Duan Xiaolou's human nature, while Cheng Dieyi died because he could not adapt to such a society.
Cheng Dieyi, played by Leslie Cheung, is an actor who is inseparable from his own drama. Mr. Leslie Cheung himself said it was very much like himself. Leslie Cheung perfectly interpreted the role of Cheng Dieyi. In the explanation, he substituted himself into the role, making himself in harmony with the role itself, as if he were Cheng Dieyi himself. We can appreciate Leslie Cheung's superb acting skills from Cheng Dieyi's body movements, eyes and the extreme charm we feel. In the words of the movie, when you smile at Wan Muchun, you will always be sad. Leslie Cheung's performance is undoubtedly a major reason for the success of this film.
ZhangFeng yi plays Duan Xiaolou, a Beijinger, very well. Every gesture brings out the feeling that the role should have, highlighting the characteristics of men. ZhangFeng yi created overlord Xiang Yu and Duan Xiaolou in the play. Although the role itself is not too brilliant, we also see a man's domineering. Match the character itself.
Gong Li vividly portrayed the image of brave women in the old society. The eyes are vividly portrayed, and every expression is in place. Gong Li's appearance is also in line with the image of a daisy fairy. Gong Li seems to be the kind of stubborn woman who looks good. She has a very oriental feeling. She is the most suitable person to play such a sentimental daisy fairy.
Farewell My Concubine is compact in narrative, interlocking and reasonable in rhythm. This film uses the development of society to promote the change of human nature, and uses the change of human nature to make the difference of fate. The story is reasonable and follows the cause and effect. The chronological narrative sequence is clear and not lengthy. The description technique is naturally unpretentious. The depiction of the times not only conforms to the social background at that time, but also reflects the vicissitudes of history.
The use of light in this film is excellent. At the beginning of the film, the audience was dragged back to the old times by the way of fading light. When Xiao Lou got married, the festive color was in sharp contrast with the dark color of the sad and desperate butterfly dress, which reflected the inner feelings, mental state and atmosphere of the characters. The sound effects and soundtrack of the film are also excellent. Hawking, who appears repeatedly in the film, reflects the nervous and embarrassing psychological state of the characters. The soundtrack of the film (mainly Beijing Opera) creates a magnificent atmosphere and the style of typical culture in China. The actors in the film are also very elegant. Costumes and props that conform to the characteristics of the times, it is worth mentioning the mid-range butterfly costume in the film and the Beijing Opera modeling in Duan Xiaolou. Duan Xiaolou has a Peking Opera costume, and Cheng Dieyi has four sets. These five sets of costumes, whether it is hair crowns, costumes, accessories or makeup, are very exquisite, highlighting the characteristics of Chinese Peking Opera and making people look pleasing to the eye.
In a word, Farewell My Concubine is a good film with strong audio-visual entertainment and thought-provoking.