Overview
Chinese Name：霸王别姬
English Name：Farewell My Concubine, Ba Wang Bie Ji
Other Names: 再见，我的妾, Adieu Ma Concubine
Director: Chen Kaige 陈凯歌
Screenwriter: Lilian Lee 李碧华, Lu Wei 芦苇
Starring: Leslie Cheung 张国荣, Gong Li 巩俐, Zhang Fengyi 张丰毅, Ge You 葛优
Release Year：1993
Running time : 171 Minutes
Brief Introduction of Farewell My Concubine
Farewell My Concubine霸王别姬（Ba Wang Bie Ji） is a love literary film, adapted from Lilian Lee’s李碧华 novel of the same name and directed by Chen Kaige陈凯歌.
Focusing on the joys and sorrows of the two Peking Opera actors for half a century, the film shows the thinking and understanding of traditional culture, people’s living state and human nature. In 1993, the film was released in mainland China and Hong Kong, China. Since then, it has been released in many countries and regions around the world, and broke the box office record of literary and artistic films in mainland China in the United States.
As a benchmark work in the Chinese film world and a film enjoying world-class important honors, “Farewell My Concubine” has both epic pattern and cultural connotation. Under the background of profound Peking opera art, it shows the multifaceted and richness of people in the face of role dislocation and disaster, The power of human nature and the wonderful performance of the actors have conquered many film audiences all over the world.
On March 3, 2020, the film will be re screened in Korea on April 1. Previously, the film was set for March 25, and later adjusted to the 17th anniversary of Leslie Cheung’s death.
Plot of Farewell My Concubine
Duan Xiaolou (Zhang Fengyi) and Cheng Dieyi (Leslie Cheung) are a pair of martial brothers who studied Peking Opera and grew up together. They have always cooperated seamlessly with each other, especially the Peking Opera program-Ba Wang Bie Ji霸王别姬（Farewell My Concubine）. Therefore, they agreed to co-perform Farewell My Concubine all their lives. However, their understanding of the relationship between drama and life is essentially different. Duan Xiaolou knows that drama is not life, while Cheng Dieyi does not distinguish between life and drama.
Duan Xiaolou married the famous prostitute Ju Xian (Gong Li) when he thought it was time to get married, which led Cheng Dieyi to believe that Ju Xian was a shameful third party and made Duan Xiaolou a traitor. Since then, the love and hate among the three began to escalate with the changes of the times and eventually led to tragedy.
Accolades of Farewell My Concubine
| Year | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Boston Society of Film Critics | Best Foreign Language Film | Won |
| 1993 | Camerimage | Silver Frog | Won |
| 1993 | Cannes Film Festival | Palme d’Or | Won |
| 1993 | Los Angeles Film Critics Association | Best Foreign Language Film | Won |
| 1993 | National Board of Review | Best Foreign Language Film | Won |
| 1993 | New York Film Critics Circle | Best Foreign Language Film | Won |
| 1994 | Academy Awards | Best Foreign Language Film | Nominated |
| 1994 | British Academy Film Awards | Best Film not in the English Language | Won |
| 1994 | César Awards | Best Foreign Film | Nominated |
| 1994 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Foreign Language Film | Won |
| 1994 | London Film Critics’ Circle | Best Foreign Language Film | Won |
| 1994 | Mainichi Film Awards | Best Foreign Language Film | Won |
Film Review of Farewell My Concubine
Farewell my concubine is the best film in China in the 1990s. It is a touching epic.
Time
This is not only a new peak in the history of Chinese film, but also a masterpiece in the history of Chinese film.
The New York Times
Farewell my concubine is an art film that has achieved worldwide success; The worldwide success of the film also made Zhang Guorong famous internationally.
BBC