Farewell My Concubine

91%

Tomatometer

53 Reviews

93%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

Chen Kaige's much acclaimed, long out of print masterpiece chronicles the rise of two young stars of the Beijing Opera House, their turbulent relationship, and ultimate downfalls. Beginning in 1924 and spanning nearly half a century, Farewell My Concubine's sumptuous narrative is interwoven with moments from some of the most troublesome times in modern Chinese history, including Japan's 1937 invasion though to the Chinese Cultural Revolution and its aftermath.

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Critics Consensus

Chen Kaing's epic is grand in scope and presentation, and, bolstered by solid performances, the result is a film both horrifying and enthralling.

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Critics Reviews

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Farewell My Concubine | Rotten Tomatoes (1)

Clayton Dillard

Slant Magazine

Chen Kaige offers a definitive vision of what it looks, sounds, and feels like to realize that the personal is always political.

Jul 28, 2024

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Farewell My Concubine | Rotten Tomatoes (2)

Brian Tallerico

RogerEbert.com

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.

Rated: 4/4

Sep 21, 2023

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Farewell My Concubine | Rotten Tomatoes (3)

Kenneth Turan

Los Angeles Times

An unhurried journey on the great tide of modern Chinese history, this gorgeous, intoxicating epic is confident enough of its visual and narrative power not to rush the telling.

May 9, 2023

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Farewell My Concubine | Rotten Tomatoes (4)

Scott Nye

Battleship Pretension

What Farewell My Concubine is, most clearly, immediately, and strikingly, is staggeringly beautiful.

Aug 20, 2024

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Farewell My Concubine | Rotten Tomatoes (5)

Mattie Lucas

trans|cendental cinema

A tale in which gender roles and sexuality clash in a world built on tradition and artifice, becoming intertwined with the ever-shifting march of time that leaves little time for personal truth.

Rated: 3.5/4

Aug 5, 2024

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Farewell My Concubine | Rotten Tomatoes (6)

Matt Brown

ScreenAnarchy

It remains a bravura act of filmmaking. ... The restoration of Farewell My Concubine for this release is among the finest I've seen in the Criterion Collection.

Jul 22, 2024

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Audience Reviews

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Clara Y I couldn't really understand it the first time I watched this when I was a child... Anyway a stunningly beautiful and emotionally powerful epic could span decades. Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/26/24 Full Review Alec B A stunning epic about the sacrifices required for great art and how failure and triumph are ultimately intertwined. Also this might be the definitive depiction of the horrors of the Chinese cultural revolution, with it all happening based entirely on personal recriminations and individual lust for power. Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/27/24 Full Review zhou H this movie corectly tell us what is the ancient China history Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 11/28/23 Full Review Enrique P Wonderful story. Love it! Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 09/25/23 Full Review I loved the plot and it was a great movie to watch. Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 09/23/23 Full Review 很好看的电影，通过微小人群的一生，讲述了那个年代的历史。这是第二次看了 Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 09/19/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Farewell My Concubine

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Cast & Crew

Chen Kaige Director Leslie Cheung Cheng Dieyi (segment "Douzi") Fengyi Zhang Duan Xiaolou (segment "Shitou") Gong Li Juxian Qi Lü Master Guan You Ge Master Yuan

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