FAREWELL MY CONCUBINEFAREWELL MY CONCUBINE

Presentation by Jeremy Grove & Jing Chen

Part 1

Change of identity the conflict of change from old traditions to new ways as shown through relationships of the Characters

Many aspects of the movie are symbolic of certain ideas• some are easy to see - Beijing Opera = old traditions• others are more subtle - the sword = their lives in the old traditions

It shows the destiny of individuals while displaying aspects of the whole society

The relationships themselves perhaps hold the greatest symbolism

Dieyi & Xiaolou & JiuxianLaizi & Xiaosi

Themes and messages

Symbolism in the MovieRelationships:

• Laizi & Xiaosi both run away from the old traditions, Laizi takes his own life while Xiaosi joins the communist party

•Dieyi & Xiaolou - both are oppressed by the old traditions and conform to them in their own ways (Dieyi cannot distinguish theater from reality while Xiaolou is unable to separate his performance on stage from real life).

•The hate Dieyi has for Jiuxian could be because she is a prostitute and represents his mother, and something he can not fulfill.

Objects:

• The Beijing Opera itself is a direct representation of the old traditions at the time starting with the end of the Qing Dynasty, the school showed the Brutality of the traditions

Symbolism in the Movie

• The sword itself played an important role, it symbolized the lives of Dieyi and Xiaolou throughout the opera and how they mirrored the opera. It also represents the old traditions of the opera.

Cinematographic techniquesThe narrative technique:The film begins with the end of the story and then flashes back to the beginning

The cinematography focuses on individuals through close-ups & facial expressions.

More CinematographyThere is almost always an audience of some sort representing the theatrical nature of the story and its characters

• The change in audiences displays the changing of the times The Japanese are polite, the Nationalists are rude, and the CP is critical

• The angles of the Camera and all these other techniques give a very theatrical (meaning opera like) feel to the movie

More Cinematography More techniques include:

• P-O-V on a number of occasions you see the world from Dieyi’s perspective• For instance with Old Man Zhang

• The high angles show the actors on the stage while using long shots to show the grander audience

• Scale and close ups are also used in conjunction to build intimacy between Dieyi & Xiaolou

• Shallow Focus is also used with close ups to bring the focus onto the Individual