David Reviews Chen Kaige’s Farewell My Concubine [Criterion 4K/Blu-Ray Review]

Three decades after winning the Palme d’Or in 1993 and earning worldwide acclaim in its subsequent theatrical release, Farewell My Concubine is now available in a definitive edition from the Criterion Collection, uncut and restored in an impeccable 4K transfer. Issued at a time when Western interest was piqued toward Chinese cinema originating from the nation’s mainland (rather than Hong Kong or Taiwan, which already had well-established distribution networks in North America and Europe), Farewell My Concubine satisfied the curiosity of many viewers who found themselves entranced by the opportunity to see an epic-scale depiction of a half-century’s worth of China’s history filmed in the locations where so many epochal events had occurred. The collapse of an empire in the late 1920s, the occupation of Manchuria by Japanese troops in the 30s, the expulsion of those same troops and the rise of Chairman Mao in the 40s, and the tumult instilled by the nation’s Communist rulers over the next several decades, including the Cultural Revolution that began in 1966 – these cataclysmic shifts provide a stirring backdrop for a story that primarily focuses on the intimate passions and excruciating ordeals of three people involved in a romantic triangle, each searching for ways to express and relieve their inner turmoil without incurring the destructive wrath of the authorities that forbid and are ready to punish such expressions.

While the historic context is depicted and captured on film with masterful flourishes of cinematography, set design, and authentic period details, the truly exquisite thru-line that ties this sweeping saga together is the venerable tradition of Peking opera, a performative discipline of utmost rigor whose performers are subjected to intense scrutiny to ensure that they adhere to precise expectations of how each character is portrayed. This intense pressure, combined with the mythic implications of the tales being told in each performance, makes a life- and soul-transforming impact on the actors at the heart of the production, namely two men (Douzi and Shitou) who take on the Concubine and King roles respectively in a ritual reenacted over the course of forty years that takes on new shades of meaning as the social context shifts beneath them. Douzi’s intense emotional and erotic yearnings for Shitou, his lifelong friend and fellow performer, precariously dangerous at any point in time, become ever more problematic after Shitou marries Juxian, a woman raised in a brothel, introducing a permanent division and source of tension in the relationships that develop between each member of the trio. In the best operatic tradition, each of the main characters (and quite a few of the side players as well) go through gut-wrenching transformations as they ride emotional waves of exhilaration and despair before the narrative meets its seemingly inevitable and tragic conclusion.

By way of review, I created a pair of video clips to share my impressions of the film and the impressive package that Criterion put together. The first clip is an immediate reaction recorded just a few minutes after my initial viewing of the film, posted to my TikTok account and shared here.

@dee.ell.bee 7 minute reaction clip, my 1st viewing of #FarewellMyConcubine, new release from #criterioncollection #chinesecinema #pekingopera ♬ original sound – David Blakeslee

And here’s a more extensive review, including the film’s trailer and a brief description of the supplemental features included on the Blu-ray disc.