梅兰芳 | Forever Enthralled

Acclaimed Fifth Generation director Chen Kaige brings the tumultuous life of Peking Opera legend Mei Lanfang to the big screen in the highly anticipated biopic Forever Enthralled. The inspiration for Leslie Cheung’s character in Chen Kaige’s 1993 masterpiece Farewell My Concubine, Mei Lanfang was one of the greatest Peking Opera stars of modern China. An actor who specializes in female roles, he was renowned for his great beauty on stage and performed extensively around the world, famously introducing Peking Opera to Western audiences. Pulling viewers into a riveting world of musical allure and historical tumult in early 20th century China, Forever Enthralled follows Mei Lanfang’s amazing, inevitable rise to fame – from his bold challenges against his teacher as a teenager, to his US tour that brought New York to its feet, and finally to his refusal to sing during the Japanese Occupation period. Portrayed in youth by newcomer Yu Shaoqun and in adulthood by Hong Kong star Leon Lai, Mei Lanfang embodies the professional and emotional struggles of a man whose life belonged not to himself, but to the stage.

Directed by Kaige Chen | Starring : Leon Lai, Ziyi Zhang, Honglei Sun, Hong Chen, Xueqi Wang | Presented at Berlin Film Festival, Seattle Film Festival, Rio de Janeiro Film Festival, Ghent Film Festival

春花开 | Plastic Flowers

Middle aged businesswoman Xie Chunhua is well-off but still leads a celibate life. In her plastic flower factory, she notices two young men: they have similar appearance, one plays flutes, and the other writes poems, entirely different from the rest of workers in the factory. Successively they fall in love with their wealthy boss. Maybe out of their love to the enchanting boss, or their desire to her property, or maybe jealousy, a complex feeling arises between these two men… At the night before the wedding ceremony, he, or maybe the other man, stabs at the other, and then jumps off the tower. The next day, two dead men, are still alive. One of the men sees the wedding between the other man and Xie Chunhua taking place amid the sea of plastic flowers Is it purely imagination or just another pathetic reality?

Directed by Bingjian Liu | Starring : Xiaoqing Liu, Zhi Yin, Xiding Min, Qin Liao | Presented at Toronto Film Festival, Berlin Film Festival

霸王别姬 | Farewell My Concubine

Farewell My Concubine is a 1993 Chinese film directed by Chen Kaige, is one of the central works of the Fifth Generation movement that brought Chinese film directors to world attention. Similar to other Fifth Generation films like To Live and The Blue Kite, Farewell My Concubine explores the effect of China’s political turmoil during the mid-20th century on the lives of individuals, families, and groups, in this case, two stars in a Peking opera troupe and the woman who comes between them. The film is an adaptation of the novel by Lilian Lee. Lilian Lee is also one of the film’s screenplay writers.

Directed by Kaige Chen | Starring : Leslie Cheung, Fengyi Zhang, Li Gong, You Ge, Wenli Jiang | Presented at Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto Film Festival, Chicago Film Festival, Tokyo Film Festival, New York Film Festival