a movie directed by Kaige Chen in 1993.
It follows the story of two young boys who meet in an opera house as boys. They survived the training of the opera and went on to be incredibly successful. The music and costumes are beautiful. While tracking their lives, China's history is tucked neatly into the story-line. Gender issues and sexuality are also neatly woven in.
The movie felt like it was starting to drag toward the end, a situation that could have easily been avoided by starting the movie early in the evening with the intention to stay captivated for 171 minutes. I would recommend this film to anyone interested in Peking Opera, China, queer relationships, foreign films, and any thing really. A great, distinguished film.
written on May 27, 2004