Farewell My Concubine
In an epic tale of theater, gender, love and class, two Beijing opera actors navigate political turmoil as their friendship evolves over decades.
Critics Sentiment
Dieyi in Consort Yu costume calmly finishes a beaten Xiaolou's smudged stage makeup
Dieyi falls into opium addiction as his personal and professional life declines
The film surges from its lowest point during Dieyi's opium-addled decline (7.4) to the iconic struggle session makeup scene (9.2), a swing of 1.8 points as personal devastation transforms into the film's most celebrated and emotionally overwhelming image.
Farewell My Concubine sustains a high baseline of audience admiration throughout its 171-minute runtime, with reviewers consistently praising its technical mastery, historical sweep, and Leslie Cheung's performance. The sentiment arc rises steadily through the opera-world establishment and love triangle, dips slightly during the mid-film decline sequences that some find overlong, then climbs to its emotional apex during the Cultural Revolution struggle sessions where the film's themes of art, identity, betrayal, and devotion converge with devastating force. The final reunion and death on stage lands as a near-perfect circular resolution, cementing the film's reputation as one of the great Chinese epics.
Full cast
Showing 20 of 23
Leslie Cheung
Cheng Dieyi / Xiao Douzi
Zhang Fengyi
Duan Xiaolou / Xiao Shitou
Gong Li
Juxian
Lü Qi
Master Guan
Ying Da
Manager
Ge You
Master Yuan Shiqing
Lei Han
Xiao Si
Tong Di
Zhang the Eunuch
Yin Zhi
Teenage Douzi
Ma Mingwei
Young Douzi
Zhao Hailong
Teenage Shitou
Fei Zhenxiang
Young Shitou
Yang Yong Chao
Young Xiao Laizi
Huang Fei
Old Master
Jiang Wenli
Douzi's Mother
Zhi Yitong
Aoki Saburo
Li Chun
Teenage Xiao Si
David Wu
Red Guard
Shen Huifen
Cai Feng
Huang Lei
Little Hooligan
Crew
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