This was a tough film to take in. It's such a multi-layered phenomenon that it’s difficult to really take it all in and convey my thoughts on it. In some ways, this is a tough tale about unrequited love between two lifelong friends who have grown up in an Opera Troupe, playing the parts of The King and Concubine Yu in “Farewell My Concubine”. Dieyi is struggling with his homosexual love towards his friend, partner, brother (as Xiaolou calls him) while failing into the trap of art limitating life. And to make things harder, Xiaolou has fallen in love with another. In other ways, it’s a social retelling of the struggles of the Chinese citizens through pivotal yet tumultuous events of the 20th Century - beginning with the Sino-Japanese War then the Revolution with Mao and his army, then the cultural revolution. It does a great job of combining it all together for one cohesive epic spanning near 3 hours.

The run time was a joy to sit through as this film was truly enthralling. The performances more than matched the rest of the film making, the grand costumes, poignant soundtrack and story elements. Leslie Cheung brought his absolute all to, what was essentially, two characters - Concubine Yu and Dieyi. The struggle of it all is hard to portray, and Cheung brought the role to life. Impactful film from all aspects.

Fair warning to all (and spoilers): Suicide is a main fixture in all points of the film. You’ve been warned.