September 8, 2005
Chen Kaige has long been overshadowed by his classmate Zhang Yimou (HERO, HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS) whose career followed a similar path but who is more prolific and more well known. I believe Chen Kaige’s accomplishments dwarf everything up to Yimou’s most recent work. I find him to be a more accomplished filmmaker, if not quite as well known.
Albeit, when his films are bad, they can be very bad. But when they are good, he can surpass most modern filmmakers.
Chen’s story is similar to many people his age. His father was also a filmmaker but Chen’s life was displaced by the cultural revolution in China which sent him from an exclusive school out to the country to work like everyone else. He spent some time in the military but then joined the Beijing Film Academy when it reopened.
The graduating class of this re-opened Academy was dubbed ‘The Fifth Generation’ and included not only Chen but also Zhang Yimou. But as noted, their careers followed similar paths. Zhang Yimou made his Gong Li-starring epics in the 90s (SHANGHAI TRIAD, TO LIVE, RAISE THE RED LANTERN, etc) and so did Chen Kaige (FAREWELL MY CONCUBINE, TEMTRESS MOON). Then Zhang Yimou made a couple of more stripped down smaller films (THE ROAD HOME, NOT ONE LESS) and so Chen Kaige made one (TOGETHER). When Zhang Yimou decided to make martial arts films, Chen took a misstep -- trying to make a film in English that was evidently a complete disaster (KILLING ME SOFTLY). He’s now returned to China and followed Zhang’s lead -- making a martial arts epic.
In the 90s, the Gong Li-starring epics of Yimou and Chen were very popular in the art house scene. They were made for the international art house scene since several of them were banned in their own country. And although I’ve seen some of Chen’s earlier works, I am going to focus on his three Gong Li epics -- FAREWELL, MY CONCUBINE, TEMPTRESS MOON and THE EMPEROR AND THE ASSASSIN. They are the easiest to find in the states and show the best of Chen’s talent.
FAREWELL, MY CONCUBINE
This film was the first Chinese film to win the Palm D’Or at Cannes. It traces the story of Dieyi (Leslie Cheung) and Xiaolou (Fengyi Zhang) and later, Xiaolou’s wife Juxian (Gong Li) through the changing political times in early-mid 20th century China.
The first quarter of the film is the hardest to sit through as you see a young Dieyi, left by his prostitute mother who cannot afford to take care of him, at a Peking Opera school. The defiant child faces all the pain, tears and beating inherent in this kind of upbringing. It’s a heart wrenching look at the mythical difficulty of these schools. Real life Hong Kong stars Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao and choreographers Corey Yuen and Yuen Biao all went to the same Peking Opera School and attest to it’s grueling work standards.
It is at the school that a friendship forms between Dieyi and Xiaolou as they both begin to also get noticed for their skills. All their blood, sweat and tears pay off as they become famous actors. They begin to live in excess and adore the crowd that so adores them. Xiaolou marries a popular courtesan, Juxian -- much to Dieyi’s distress. He’s always depended on Xiaolou and wants him to himself. He’s particularly distressed at his choice of a prostitute, reminded of his mother who left him. Battle lines are drawn between Dieyi and Juxian -- both competing for Xiaolou’s affection.
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But there is also political turmoil. First, the Japanese occupation and then the onset of Communism. Dieyi, in particular, is as unlucky in politics as he is in love. Xiaolou’s ‘unfaithfulness’, a violation that happened in his youth and one particularly bad political choice haunt him and resonate throughout the several years that the movie takes place during. All of these events lead to a climax where the ‘brothers’ relationship is decidedly destroyed under the stress of the political situation.
The complexity of the relationships in this film is well mirrored by the complexity of the changing times. It shows that there are both internal and external factors that complicate our lives. Juxian and Dieyi’s competitiveness over Xiaolou, who doesn’t even seem worth it also reflects the political situation. Juxian is a survivor under any situation and Dieyi takes no notice of the situation and is ruled by his emotions.
But let’s not forget the opera. The ancient art of Chinese opera is well represented here. Dieyi and Xiaolou often perform their signature piece ‘Farewell, My Concubine’ about a General destined to die and the Concubine who will not leave his side. For Dieyi, this is his real life. Peking opera is a joy to watch -- a mixture of unique Chinese singing and exciting acrobatics. But above all, it is an ancient art form that is dying with the changing times. Due to the cultural revolution of the Communists, this true cultural treasure becomes obsolete.
But in the end, it’s the personal matters that damage Dieyi and what someone can do to someone they once loved can be a lot worse than the dangers of tumultuous and changing times.
If this film didn’t already have a many layered narrative, it is further buoyed by Leslie Cheung’s fantastic performance. He’s a slighted lover, obsessed with the one man who showed him compassion when he needed it, confused by his own sexuality and ignorant to the repercussions of the changing times. Few actors in modern times have been able to portray so much. Few actors would be even near capable of such a complex role. Unfortunately, we lost Leslie Cheung a little over two years ago when he took his own life. But his work surely stands for himself. And this was very possibly his most praised role.
This film was extremely well reviewed upon it’s release and is worth anyone’s time. Great filmmaking, great story, great everything.
TEMPTRESS MOON
I grew up in a suburb outside Boston and in high school I was already into foreign films. But they weren’t easy to get. So I had a Blockbuster with the typical selection for a suburban blockbuster. They had a small foreign film section and I took it upon myself to watch all the films in it one by one. But there was one film that they had that I avoided watching the longest. It was TEMPTRESS MOON. It had Gong Li laying sexy on the cover with words like “Sensuous” and “Ravishing”. Well as a good Catholic school girl this was not my thing. I eventually did watch it and without exaggeration I think it’s one of the best films ever made.
Looking at the IMDB user comments is an interesting experience. All the early comments rate the film very low. They were upset that it wasn’t as sexy as advertised. All the later comments give it a ten -- people who heard about it or found it through other means who love it like I do. I think it’s just a situation where the advertising really missed the mark and the market. I almost never saw it because of the advertising campaign and that would have been quite unfortunate considering the extent to which I revere it. It’s a truly overlooked great of cinema.
It was banned in China but not for sexuality but for use of opium. They are very sensitive about opium in China and recently made Chinese pop icon Faye Wong change a lyric in her song that mentioned opium.
But opium is in fact at the center of this film. It is a picture of how drugs can destroy a family. Zhongliang (Leslie Cheung) is scarred from a childhood drug-induced incident that has made it impossible for him to get close to anyone. Subsequently he’s become a playboy -- a swindler Cassanova. He makes married women fall in love with him then his syndicate blackmails them.
He would do anything for his boss, but his new assignment might be more than he can take. He asked to go back to his childhood home and seduce Ruyi (his brother-in-law’s sister, played by Gong Li) for her money. But of course, he breaks the one rule -- he falls in love. And she, of course, finds out his purpose.
The plot is not unlike a Hollywood film but the characters and situations are so much more complex. Zhongliang is a flawed and troubled man. You sympathize for him knowing what he’s been through and it hurts to watch him destroy himself.
Ruyi is a sheltered and naive opium addict with little knowledge of the world. Everything she finds out shatters her. But she has the egotism that goes with being an aristocrat that ads an interesting yet believable twist in her character.
The film has some great moments. Early on there is a point where the camera is following Zhongliang as he wanders through a bar like he owns the place. All of a sudden he turns toward the camera as if he’s saying ‘I know you’re watching me’. It’s quite striking. But the climactic moment I think is the best filmed. To those who have seen this film I can never stop talking about this shot -- or lack of shot -- that I think is pure genius. But alas, I cannot talk about it with you since I don’t want to spoil what happens.
Temptress Moon has the good luck of being shot by Christopher Doyle, the world’s best living cinematographer -- so it’s beautiful. He creates a world in an opium haze, a dream sequence of an atmosphere.
Once again, Leslie Cheung proves how talented he is. He projects so much as the tortured Zhongliang. You see his vulnerability, how closed off he is, how he yearns from love but turns away from it. Cheung portrays this seemingly with such ease making it so easy to understand everything about Zhongliang without words.
Gong Li has a lot more screen time here and plays naive versus the worldly conniving character in FAREWELL MY CONCUBINE. She has amazing range as an actress and of course is unbelievably beautiful. Her presence alone makes a movie worth watching.
It’s hard to put into words why I think this film is so good. It works as a character study, a mood piece, a tragic love story -- it’s just a great film experience. FAREWELL MY CONCUBINE may be grandeur in scale and ambition, but this film is a greater creative force.
I believe this is the most overlooked film of the 90s and certainly deserves a renaissance in appreciation of it.
THE EMPEROR AND THE ASSASSIN
The Emperor Ying Zheng (Xuejian Li) has broad and sweeping ambitions and trusts only his love and ally Lady Zhao (Gong Li). And when he asks her to get involved with an assassin (Fengyi Zhang), she will clearly do anything for him and his dream. But then as he subsequently pushes her away, he learns just how dangerous she can be -- particularly with her newfound love of the assassin.
Once again, Chen explores the dichotomy between what we do to destroy each other personally against a background of war and destruction on a large level. Yet, the horrors of war are nothing compared to how someone who perhaps you once loved can treat you.
To be honest, I haven’t seen this film enough times to talk about it with the passion I discuss his previous two films. Also, it may not be quite as much of a masterpiece. But it’s certainly visually stunning -- everything from battle scenes to small intimate scenes.
The film was supposedly an inspiration for Zhang Yimou’s HERO -- a story about the same king and time period. Neither that film nor this one are all that historically accurate.
But this is Chen’s most sweeping and most expensive (to date) project and therefore it contains high melodrama and dramatic shots. It’s truly a film in the epic tradition and a great addition to the genre. It's the melodrama that turns some people off but the big set pieces that interest others. But of course, any movie with Gong Li in it is worth your time
Warning
A warning about these films. I found them all to be a little difficult to fully take in on the first viewing. FAREWELL MY CONCUBINE was the easiest to get the most out of the first time which is why I think it did so well internationally. But telling large numbers of characters apart and keeping up with the subtitles, the subtext and the visual complexity can be a bit overwhelming. I did not really appreciate these films until I watched them a second time (a policy I have for many subtitled films anyway). So while I think they are very fulfilling film experiences, be prepared to pay a lot of attention to get as much as you can out of the film and digest the multiple elements. Zhang Yimou’s success may also come from the fact that his films are more simplistic on several of these levels.
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THE PROMISE
THE PROMISE (’Wu Ji’ in Chinese) is Chen Kaige’s martial arts epic that is being released this year. Miramax has the film rights and supposedly will be releasing it almost simultaneous to it’s domestic release in mid-December (I’ll believe that when I see it).
I have heard literally nothing about this movie. It hasn’t been to any festivals, no one has seen it (including the composer) and there’s no word. There were some spy photos from production and the costumes and set look impressive. Even more impressive is the cast -- filled with some of my favorite actors. It’s a Pan-Asian cast, the new Asian fad, in order to appeal to many Asian countries to make back it’s large budget.
The cast includes Hong Kong heart throb Nicholas Tse. He’s proved himself good enough in the acting capacity and makes up for a lot in charisma. Actress Cecilia Cheung (ever professional -- working with her ex-boyfriend Tse) is one of the brightest and most talented actresses in Hong Kong. Her career has been marred by scandal (some including king of scandal Tse) but it doesn’t take away from her outstanding ability. Japanese actor Hiroyuki Sanada is a powerhouse and a great presence on screen. He is best known to international audiences as the boyfriend in RINGU and the hard edged samurai in THE LAST SAMURAI. Jang Dong-kun is a Korean actor who has starred in two of the top grossing films in that nation -- TAE GUK GI and FRIEND -- buoyed by his good looks, it should be interesting to see him act in a language he doesn’t speak. And last but not least are the mainland Chinese actors. Due to the lack of availability of mainland films I am not as familiar with them. Liu Ye has been in several movies available in the U.S. (BALZAC, LAN YU) that I haven’t happened to see but they are very well respected. I did see PURPLE BUTTERFLY and he seemed very able. The other is Chen Hong, Chen Kaige’s wife, and I haven’t seen any of her films.
The movie was shot by Peter Pau, cinematographer of CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON.
Is it going to be good? I don’t know. But I’m beginning to wonder if it could ever live up to my sky high expectations.
In Conclusion
At the very least, Chen Kaige has produced two certain masterpieces. The fact that he is less well known than his counterpart is something I find upsetting. I can only hope that THE PROMISE brings him back to the international spotlight and introduces him to new fans. His work has a complexity and intellectualism that is lacking in so many films. But THE PROMISE could be a big disaster looking at his last film -- the English-language KILLING ME SOFTLY (starring Heather Graham and Joseph Fiennes) -- which was certainly a disaster. Hopefully the uncertainty will subside one way or the other upon it's release in December. Hopefully it will really be released in December. You can be sure I will address this issue again in this column so stay tuned....
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