October 11, 14 & 15 Only
Director: Chen Kaige
Cast: Leslie Cheung, Zhang Fengyi, Gong Li, Ge You
In celebration of its 30th anniversary, the recently restored 4K version of this masterwork is the uncut film (20 minutes longer than its original Miramax theatrical release) on screen for the first time ever.
Cheng Dieyi (Leslie Cheung) and Duan Xiaolou (Zhang Fengyi) grow up enduring the harsh training of the Peking Opera Academy, where instructors regularly beat the students to instill in them the discipline needed to master the complex physical and vocal techniques of this ancient art. As the two boys mature, they develop complementary talents: Dieyi, with his fine, delicate features, assumes the female roles while Xiaolou plays masculine warlords. Their dramatic identities become real for Dieyi when he falls in love with Xiaolou, who fails to fully reciprocate his affections and marries a courtesan, Juxian (Gong Li), creating a dangerous, jealousy-filled romantic triangle.
Hailed as a “cultural achievement” (The New York Times) and widely considered one of the most important motion pictures ever made, Farewell My Concubine is a “gorgeous, intoxicating epic” (Los Angeles Times) that is both “visually spectacular” and “sumptuous in every respect” (Time Out). Spanning 50 years from the early 20th century to the tumultuous Cultural Revolution, Chen Kaige's passionate, exquisitely shot film captures the vast historical scope of a changing country while revealing the intimate and touching details of a unique, tender, heartrending love story. Based on the bestselling novel by Lillian Lee, it was selected as one of the “100 Best Films in Global History” by TIME Magazine, was awarded the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film, and remains the only Chinese-language film to ever win the Palme d’Or.
"CRITIC'S PICK! One of those very rare film spectacles that deliver just about everything the ads are likely to promise. Farewell My Concubine... is a vastly entertaining movie. It's also one of such recognizably serious concerns that you can sink into it with pleasure and count it a cultural achievement." - Vincent Canby, The New York Times
"Farewell My Concubine is a demonstration of how a great epic can function. I was generally familiar with the important moments in modern Chinese history, but this film helped me to feel and imagine what it was like to live in the country during those times. This is one of the year's best films." - Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times