Ba wang bie ji (Farewell My Concubine) by Chen Kaige: when Peking Opera was still alive
Joint Palme d’or winner in 1993 alongside The Piano by Jane Campion, Ba wang bie ji (Farewell My Concubine) by Chen Kaige (based on Lilian Lee’s novel) returns to Cannes Classics with a full 4K restoration, screened in the presence of Gong Li. As the first Chinese film to win the top prize, 33 years later, the film showcases the dying art of Peking Opera.
In 1993, Chen Kaige filmed the Peking Opera from the inside: the academy, the brutal training, behind the scenes, the makeup, the performances. Following Douzi and Xiaolou (Leslie Cheung and Zhang Fengyi), two children trained at this school and inseparable on stage in the role of the King and his Concubine, the director captured a then still-living art, in its most demanding form. This centuries-old art form blends singing, acrobatics, mime and codified costumes, which UNESCO added to the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list in 2010. Ba wang bie ji (Farewell My Concubine) has become a testimony of a bygone era and introduces the audience to the actress Gong Li playing the female character Juxian who comes between the two men.
The historical portrait is marked by the Cultural Revolution that almost wiped out Peking Opera. At the time, Newsweek summarized the film in one sentence, as “[it] telescopes more than 50 years of tumultuous Chinese history”. Between 1966 and 1976, the troupes were disbanded, the artists were persecuted, and the repertoire was banned. Only eight revolutionary operas approved by the wife of Mao Zedong were authorized for production. Watching this film again in 2026 is also a chance to rediscover the testimony of a living art form on the verge of disappearing.
