Ba Wang Bie Ji (1993)
Genre: Drama / Romance
Duration: 171 minuten
Alternative titles: Farewell My Concubine / Farewell to My Concubine / 霸王別姬 / 霸王别姬
Country:
China / Hong-Kong
Directed by: Kaige Chen
Stars: Leslie Cheung, Fengyi Zhang and Gong Li
IMDb score:
8,1 (36.690)
Releasedate: 1 January 1993
Ba Wang Bie Ji plot
"The passionate story of two lifelong friends and the woman who comes between them."
China 1927-1977. Nine-year-old Chen is taken to the Beijing opera school by his mother and left there. Filled with hatred and bitter feelings, he undergoes a brutal training, but he finds a friend and solace in the older fellow student Duan. Because of his girlish appearance, Chen has to play a female role for years and identifies with this so much that he can no longer distinguish theater and real life.
Actors and actresses
Xiao Douzi
Duan Xiaolou
Juxian
Yan Hong
Master Yuan Si Qing
Master Guan
Manager
Eunuch Zhang
Aoki Saburo
Young Xiao Shitou
Reviews & comments
BBarbie
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- 12893 messages
- 7675 votes
One thing has become clear to me, just like with Spetie above: Chinese opera is not my cup of tea. I cannot deny that Leslie Cheung in particular gives a very difficult role wonderful substance, but the super-theatrical opera scenes quickly started to irritate me. Moreover, I think that Gong Li comes into her own better in Yimou Zhang's films. A disappointment.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Onderhond
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- 87623 messages
- 12889 votes
Nice but too long.
I had my Chinese opera baptism a long time ago, but it's cute to read how everyone reacts to it here. I still find the vocals ugly, the shrill instruments I can appreciate better at times. Which such martial arts films are not good for. Anyway, like everything, you get used to it.
Film does indeed look nice, but the look is not exactly unique to HK '93, on the contrary. Strong monochrome colors and overexposure were the order of the day. But Chen turns it into a beautiful visual piece, which is certainly to be appreciated.
The plot is really just Swiss cheese. The attempt to capture a friendship, the opera and the entire Chinese Cultural Revolution in one film is a bit too ambitious, especially if it hasn't really succeeded in 3 hours. The movie takes way too long.
Nice to have seen once, a Chinese classic that is mentioned everywhere, but I didn't think it was very strong. Rather average and especially long stretched, but that often works well of course.
2.5*
Translated from Dutch · View original
Fisico
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- 10039 messages
- 5398 votes
Interesting film of which I was particularly impressed in the beginning by the Spartan training that the students underwent during their training at the Opera. A kind of Chinese black swan. Afterwards the attention faded somewhat for me, also knowing that I still had a long way to go. Quite a long sitting with its almost three hours, because it was not always interesting or compact.
The main characters did a good job and you feel sorry for them. Cinematographically very finely portrayed. I also quite liked the opera parts, singing and music. It's nice to get acquainted with other cultures and customs. The visual aspect certainly made up for me. In terms of content, despite the intriguing subject, it was just that little bit less.
Translated from Dutch · View original
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