Farewell My Concubine

Introduction/Movie Synopsis

The movie ends where it begins- with Douzi, Shitou and the opera.

Background

The Beijing Opera

A Bejing Opera production of "Farewell My Concubine" phot by Leonard G.,Creative commons, retrieved from Wikimedia Commons. Click here for original source.

The Beijing opera Farewell My Concubine is set at the start of the Han Dynasty, over 2000 years ago. The concubine, Consort Yu, deeply loved the King Xiang Yu. When the Han forces prove victorious and the King is abandoned by all his forces, she commits suicide (out of loyalty) rather than allow herself to be captured and ravished by the invaders (further dishonoring her King).

Quotes that tell the story

"With a sword like this, the King of Chu would have won." "I want you to have a sword like this some day."

"I play a fake King, but you are really the concubine"

"A sword is the classic gift between the most intimate of friends..."

"Don't! That is a real sword"

"What do I want with a sword?"

"Why must the concubine always die?"

Comments by students in the class

by Licia Kim

The target audience is not Chinese- it was made for the international market- in Hong Kong with money from international backers.It is a self reflective movie, from the Chinese perspective, and a "spectacle" for international audiences- both at the same time.