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Two boys meet at an opera training school in Peking in 1924. Their resulting friendship will span nearly 70 years and endure some of the most troublesome times in China's history. (R, 171 min.)
7:00 PM
Big Screen Classics 2026 is sponsored by Hotel Vandivort.
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. [Film Movement]
Starring: Leslie Cheung, Zhang Fengyi, Gong Li, Ge You
Director: Chen Kaige
Language: Mandarin
Genre: Drama, Epic, History
"One of the greatest films I've ever seen."
— Wade Major, FilmWeek (LAist)
"This is entertaining filmmaking on a grand scale."
— Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
"One of the greatest cinematic works China has ever given the world."
— Mike McGranaghan, Aisle Seat
"A motion picture experience that few will soon forget after leaving the theater."
— James Berardinelli, ReelViews
"Farewell My Concubine is a tragic and poignant story in every sense of the world."
— Alan Ng Film, Threat
"A complex examination of both China's political history and sexual identity. It's also about art."
— Richard James Havis, South China Morning Post
"One of those very rare film spectacles that deliver just about everything the ads are likely to promise."
— Vincent Canby, New York Times
"Farewell my Concubine is one of the definite world cinema masterpieces, a must-watch for every cinema fan."
— Panos Kotzathanasis, easternKicks.com
"A movie whose decades-spanning chronicle of a Peking opera troupe pushed the envelope in several ways."
— Dennis Harvey, 48 Hills
"The movie is more stunning than ever, a daring blend of history and personal storytelling with one of the most striking performances of its era from Leslie Cheung."
— Brian Tallerico, RogerEbert.com
"As both a monumental piece of Chinese cinematic history and a lasting tribute to the special brilliance of its star, Farewell My Concubine is an essential viewing experience."
— Lee Jutton, Film Inquiry
"Thoughtfully considered and gorgeously rendered in a production worthy of Lean, Chen's film marks the intersection between life and art, politics and performance, the intimate and the epic."
— Brian Eggert, Deep Focus Review
"Visually impressive and emotionally complex, this historical epic, winner of the Cannes Festival Palme d'Or, relates the tumultuous history of China through the story of two friends who meet as children and become stars of the Peking Opera."
— Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
