Farewell My Concubine Reviews

I remember very well when this movie was released. Back then, I was about 13-14 years, it was a big critical success and it even won the Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival. And yet, even though I have always been eager to check this movie, it eventually took me more than 20 years to finally watch the damned thing. Well, to be honest, I have to admit that it turned out to be a tough watch though. Indeed, even though I have myself always been interested in Asian movies, it still struggled to connect with this tale which lasted almost 3 hours. Furthermore, it didn't help that the beginning was rather confusing and messy. Still, when it was finished, I had to admit to that the whole thing was still a fascinating epic tale. I did remind me of 'Stage Beauty' which was made 10 years later but even though they both shared some elements, this movie was definitely from another level. Indeed, the scope was so much bigger, with so many layers, it was just fascinating to behold. It was also pretty neat to see a younger Gong Li at the height of her career (seriously, after all these years, she pretty much still look exactly the same). To conclude, I think it is an acquired taste but it is still definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.