Chinese Gay Movie Review #21: Farewell My Concubine (1993)
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- Опубликовано: 12 авг 2020
- We finally got around to reviewing the greatest, most famous, most intimidating Chinese gay film ever made! Most of the movies we've reviewed before have some influence from this one. If you only watch one of the movie we've reviewed, make it this one. It's on RUclips here (turn on subtitles): • Video
FILM
English Name: Farewell My Concubine (1993)
Chinese Name: 霸王别姬 (Bàwáng Bié Jī, “The Hegemon-King Bids His Concubine Farewell,” the title of a history-based Chinese opera referenced throughout the film).
Origin: China/Hong Kong. Based on a 1985 novel by Lilian Lee.
RATINGS
Writing/Storytelling: 10/10
Cinematography: 10/10
Acting: 10/10
Hot Guys: 10/10 (Oooh, Leslie)
Chinese Cultural Value: Soooo much. This film is basically a history lesson and depicts many major events throughout 20th century China, as well as the traditional art-form of Beijing Opera.
Recommended: Highly! This is one of the greatest Chinese films ever made, and has tremendous value beyond the queer content. 
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One of the greatest movies ever made. It also tackled so many issues and Leslie Cheung was so beautiful 😍
Totally agreed 😜
I actually saw this movie in the 90s. Then i found Hua Chenyus music a few years back. With that also followed Leslie Chueng. I absolutely love all hcy music, and i enjoy Leslie/albert Leung a lot too. Leungs lyrics is above and beyond. Today im going to spend rewatching the Concubine.❤️
This was both my first gay Chinese movie and Chinese language movie. I was immediately hooked ❤️
I think it's the most beautiful Chinese movie ever..
There’s a lot of Chinese films we haven’t watched, but this is definitely an extremely beautiful one!
aaahh thank you so much for this review !!!!!
though i wish it was longer because this movie is indeed so long and detailed, that's why i wanted to hear more of your thoughts 😩😩
btw what is the name of that rap song that you've put in the video ?
Ornithorhynchus Anatinus Thanks! Yeah we realized we only really talked about the first half of this movie, there’s just so much to talk about we should do a Part 2. The song is called “My New Swag” by Chinese rapper VAVA
@@chinesegaymoviereviews9468 yes a part 2 would be greattt! Thanks!
@@ornithorhynchusanatinus6834 are they a couple M
This one of my favorite Chinese films, along with Raise The Red Lantern (although not a gay film) which also has Gong-Li in it.
Farewell My Concubine is such a beautifully made film in all aspects from the OST, the costumes, set etc. All of it!!
I just discovered you channel today bc I was actually looking for clips from Farewell My Concubine bc I was being too lazy to just pull my DVD off the shelf. Plus if I pop in that DVD I’ll have to watch the whole thing and I’m not ready to cry today lol.
Keep up the great reviews, I look forward to watching y’all’s other videos! Y’all having great reflections and commentary, plus great chemistry!
Liked & Subscribed!!
Aww thanks for watching, glad you enjoyed! And yes, we agree that this film has so much merit beyond the gay content.
Finals week is almost over and then we'll hopefully have some new reviews up in the near future :)
Thank you !!
Anyway, thanks for the review. I always skip this movie because it sounds a bit boring. But because of this review, i certainly will watch it soon
Glad you enjoyed! The English subs on the video we linked to watch the movie seem to have gone missing, weirdly. But we can also send you if you want!
The finger-chopping thing I picked up on pretty early, but the opium pipe thing I didn't ... What I never understood was the scene where the retired old eunuch sexually molests the poor kid after his first successful performance ... By what means does he do so, and with what willpower? I guess that's what makes the movie so profoundly layered and disturbing.
One other thing that makes this near-perfect movie even better is that it's a great roadmap for a gwailou on how to navigate Chinese culture. If you just read the dialogue, most of it is banal chit-chat, but the slightest slipup, the slightest disagreement with forced consensus and the make-believe (wo ben shi nan ren, bu shi nu jiao, or the qiren producer's complaint about the protesters making noise), and you land in hot water. All the meaning is packed into the visual, implicatory, and symbolic. Not that Americans don't engage in make-believe on a daily basis, of course. It's just enforced differently.
Thanks again you two for a salute to this profound, beautiful, dense, and disturbing film.
Thanks for watching and for your thoughtful response! I think the molestation thing is just meant to underscore the idea that he is being used and taken advantage of by a corrupt system which is itself decrepit and dying, but in denial that its time is coming to an end, so still trying to use and manipulate people as much as possible. It is true that Chinese opera performers in the old days, including crossdressing young boys, were sexually exploited by the rich and powerful sometimes. The eunuch makes a comment like “in here it’s still the Qing dynasty.” And then later in the film you see him as a beggar.
@@chinesegaymoviereviews9468 Holy crap! The "mai yi ge" scene, it was him!!!
Where you guys buy those cloths from? :O
Hussein Esquivel Walden bought one of them in China and the other one was ordered online off of Taobao
I love ur tiktok!
thank you!
Have you reviewed M Butterfly? Another amazing queer film staring John Lone and Jeremy Iron.
OMG IT'S WALDEN!!!!!!!!
Farid Hamka he’s everywhere 😜
What is the song at 14:27-14:32?
My New Swag by VAVA (Chinese female rapper)
It’s a sample of a Chinese opera song used in a Chinese rap song (My New Swag by VAVA)
@@chinesegaymoviereviews9468 Awesome, thanks! I love how it sounds. :) Do you know what the name of the original opera that the artist sampled?
@@EternalRhapsody Not sure the name of the song, but the opera it comes from is called "Selling Water" and the singer's name is Wang Qianqian.
@@chinesegaymoviereviews9468 Thanks so much. I'm starting to fall in love with Chinese opera. It's so beautiful!
Too much hair on the chest 🏃🏻♂️🏃🏻♂️🏃🏻♂️
I’m sure I don’t know what you mean 😜 -Andrew
To be honest, foreigners cannot understand this film, because it is not a pure gay film, but through the life of the two Peking Opera actors reflect the changes of Chinese society and human nature in the turbulent period from the 1920s to the 1960s, so as to arouse people's thoughts. Only Chinese who lived through that period or who know the history of that period can understand what it means.