"Concubine" cannot be surpassed "Mei Lanfang" is Chen Kaige's second work on the Beijing opera. The film has a wonderful English title, from which for a thousand blows Hollywood - "Forever Enthralled" (" Forever charmed).
Let me remind you that Chen Kaige is known for the film “Please, My Concubine”, also about the Beijing opera, which I personally consider a masterpiece. I can’t call “Forever Fascinated” a failure – the film is not bad, but some spark went out, something went wrong – and the movie came out bright, but still. In general, it is very difficult for me to judge the film, because I translated it from the first to the last sentence and watched it probably twenty times. And then pondered over the timing - I will never forget this horror.
But I'll try to write a review.
Once I caught the eye of the first part of the film (young Mei Lanfang defeats the mentor in a “theatrical fight” – until recently, only she was in the open access on the Runet, thanks to Viktor Sarov), it struck me, I even wanted to record the film in my favorites. But the rest of the movie, which I saw in Chinese, was disappointing. Mei Lanfang and his mistress (in general, she was his third wife, but I will tell you about the biographical nature of the film) Meng Xiaodong - the performer of the male roles "Shen" - turned out to be some nothing. Remember the brightest image of Leslie Chun from “Concubine” and sad. What to do, the impeccable biography of artist Mei Lanfang does not give much scope for imagination.
So it turned out the main character, as Viktor Sarov correctly put it, “God’s dandelion.”
The second part of the film - the love of Mei and Meng Xiaodong - undead and inanimate. I don't like the way Zhang Ziyi plays, and then she tried to sing opera. The third part is full of pathetic patriotic speeches like: “As long as the Beijing Opera lives, China lives!” Sometimes it looks too unnatural.
But there are two huge pluses - two characters who keep the whole movie on themselves. And this is by no means Mei Lanfang. The first part is drawn by the most excellent old mentor Shisan Yan. The master, who received gifts from the Empress, advocates that opera and artists should not be looked down upon. He is comic in many ways, but the tragedy in his image also splashes over the edge. The old master dies without being able to defend his opera. He asks his talented pupil, Wanhua (Mai Lanfang). This colorful, proud old man should be seen - my delights during the first part were directed primarily to him, and only then to the long fingers and pretty face of Yu Shaoqun, who managed to portray the heroine of Mei Lanfang well.
The second character that gives the film an interest is Qiu's brother, or Qiu Zhubai. This person is much more suitable than the main character to be called “forever charmed”. Nothing is more important to Qiu’s brother than an opera performed by Wanhua. As long as Wanhua sings, whether Wanhua likes it or not. If only he could sing... The rest will turn into emptiness, dispersed with thin smoke. This is how this man thinks, seeing in his friend Mei Lanfang the most talented, if not brilliant artist. And what does Qu Zhubai do so that Mei does not distract from the stage! Here Chen Kaige laid out: somewhere he used real facts, somewhere he conjectured - and it turned out quite interesting, contradictory and vivid.
In general, this biography is based on fiction more than half. Chen Kaige did not consider it important to follow historical authenticity, for him the senses and art were more important. Therefore, you should not judge this film about the life of the real Mei Lanfang. After all, even people like Qiu Zhubai, Feng Ziguang and Shisan Yan did not exist. They had prototypes that were very different from them. But that's another story.