Farewell My Concubine
A Queer Film Classic
Description
Farewell My Concubine: A Queer Film Classic
is a thought-provoking consideration of Chen Kaige's acclaimed 1992 Chinese film set in the mid-20th century abouttwo male Peking opera stars and the woman
who comes between them, set against the political
turmoil of a China in transition. The film's
treatment of gender performance and homosexuality was a first in Chinese cinema, and the subject of much controversy there. The movie,
which helped to bring contemporary Chinese
films onto the world stage, won the Palme d'Or
at the Cannes Film Festival (the first Chinese
film to do so), and was nominated for a Best
Foreign-Language Film Oscar.
This book, one of two new QFCs to focus on
Asian queer cinema, places the film in its historical
and cultural context while drawing on fresh
insights from recent works on transgender and
queer studies to provide readers with an intimate,
provocative, and original look at the film.
The QUEER FILM CLASSICS series, begun in
2009, consists of critical yet populist monographs
on classic films of interest to LGBT audiences
written by esteemed film scholars and critics. The series is edited by authors Thomas Waugh (Out/Lines, Lust Unearthed) and Matthew
Hays (The View from Here).
Reviews
Arsenal Pulp Press's Queer Film Classic series has established itself as the premiere source of critical acumen about queer film. This year's titles - three inaugurated the series in 2009 - combine scholarship with cultural context, assessing the films sometimes almost scene-by-scene and always with an eye as to what makes the movies relevant both historically and contemporaneously.
- Book Marks
-Richard Labonte, Book Marks
An intimate, provocative and original look at the film . .. I left this book with a deep understanding not only of the film itself but also the way in which sexuality and gender has developed and grown in China in the last two centuries.
- GScene
-GScene magazine (UK)
This small volume is the perfect accompaniment to Chen Kaige's ground-breaking film of the same name . .. This book should be included in any collection that holds the film Farewell my Concubine, and every library should own this unique and provocative film.
- ALA GLBT Round Table
-American Library Association's Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Round Table