FAREWELL MY CONCUBINE
One of the highest-profile and most acclaimed works to emerge from China’s lauded Fifth Generation of filmmakers, Chen Kaige’s sweeping period drama takes viewers deep inside the world of the Peking Opera. FAREWELL MY CONCUBINE is the story of two male performers: delicate Cheng Dieyi (Leslie Cheung), who specializes in female roles, and Duan Xiaolou, the charismatic and brooding male lead. From boyhood and across decades, Dieyi and Xiaolou continue to cross paths, with Dieyi unrequitedly pining for his friend while Xiaolou falls for a beautiful courtesan, Juxian (Gong Li). This romantic intrigue occurs against the backdrop of momentous social disruption in China, with the shifting interpersonal dynamics happening alongside war, political upheaval, and cultural change. Still the only Chinese-language film ever to win the Palme d’Or, this visually stunning epic vividly captures the passion and vitality of performers whose turbulent lives find full expression on the stage. This remarkable 4K restoration gives viewers the chance to experience FAREWELL MY CONCUBINE in its uncut form, replacing 20 minutes of footage excised from its original U.S. theatrical release.
CAST: Leslie Cheung, Zhang Fengyi, Gong Li, Ge You
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