Farewell My Concubine -- Interpretation of the Movie

A detailed Summary of Farewell My Concubine -- Interpretation of the Movie

Farewell My Concubine is a strikingly beautiful tale about love and betrayal, of not only individuals but also a country and its culture. The story spans fifty years, as China's turbulent history is the counterpart and contributing factor to the relationships between two young opera stars and a prostitute who changes her life and gets herself involved in a complicated triangle of love and betrayal. The times of the Cultural Revolution in China puts pressure on the opera stars and of course forces them to abandon their one and only passion - acting.

Douzi, one of the famous actors to-be, has a hard time adjusting to school life after his mother who couldn't afford to keep him anymore abandons him at the acting academy. The tough tyrant of the academy, Master Guan and the other boys ridicule Douzi because of his prostitute mother. He does, however, find comfort with a tough yet kind student, Shitou. This is the beginning of a special and very close relationship that both Douzi and Shitou will endure for the rest of their careers as actors and life. In the Beijing Opera, actors are trained in certain types of roles, in which they specialize for life. Douzi, with a natural feminine beauty, is trained for female roles, while S

One rainy night, Cheng was walking to his quarters in the Opera Academy and he found an abandoned baby, who would later also become a famous actor. His name, Xiao Si, showed himself to be an important figure in the theme of love and betrayal. Even the opera itself is changed to agree with the new ideology. Xiao Si and Cheng are at odds in their political and acting views. On one night of performing, Cheng is replaced by Xiao Si to play the role of the concubine. Duan, not wanting to be politically persecuted, decides to go on regardless of who his concubine partner is. Cheng is once again left heartbroken and Duan makes the decisions for his own benefit, not keeping interests of others in mind.

Japanese troops forced the two aspiring actors to perform for them, which would later get them into a horrendous amount of trouble for accusations of being traitors to the Chinese. Duan Xialou was forced to take sides with the Communists, because all he cared about was his own survival. The relationships between him and Juxian and Dieyi seemed less important to him than his own survival. Cheng Dieyi was the only person throughout the story who actually stayed true to his profession. His famous quote throughout the play he performed goes: "I am by nature a boy not a girl..." Although he was forced to change his ways and tell himself that he is a girl and not a boy, just to please his friends and master. Growing up with the constant pressure of everyone telling him that he was a girl and is conditioned to live as a girl in order to perfect his role. This would explain his very intimate love affairs with men and his longing for Duan Xiaolou as a

Some common words found in the essay are:
Beijing Opera, Xiao Si, Cheng Dieyi, Farewell Concubine, Cultural Revolution, Revolution China, Concubine Duan, Duan Duan, Duan Shitou, Master Guan, love betrayal, cultural revolution, farewell concubine, xiao si, theme love betrayal, own survival, cheng dieyi, duan xiaolou, theme love, juxian duan, cheng left,

Approximate Word count = 1115
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English