Farwell My Concubine is a movie about two boys who grew up together during some very trying times in China. The two boys work as performers in the Beijing Opera. The movie covers a large time span in China and therefore covers much Chinese history. The movie covers Chinese history from slightly before the Japanese invasion and occupation of China to the Cultural Revolution. The movie has several moral dilemmas presented in it that would be great for students to debate what the right courses of action should be. The movie would be well worth the times to show in class as it utilizes much history but the problem is in the violence and mature topics of this movie. The movie might be appropriate for high school students but only with parent permission and disclaimer that the movie contains violence and sexual themes.
I had forgotten the name of this movie. It is on Netflix! I will plan on watching it this evening. Thanks for the great review.
I watched Farwell My Concubine last night. I am happy that you enjoyed the movie, but it was a hard watch for me. It is tough to believe that some cultures are so hard on their kids and different classes of society. Okay, I know we have class disparity in the US, but what was shown in this movie is over the top. I think it may be okay to show clips from the movie to show how harsh life was for the lower class people, but I would not show the whole thing to a high school class. I am glad we watched YMCA Baseball during the seminar as I really enjoyed it.
Speaking of the "so hard on their kids"...during the scenes of the children training to be street performers (beginning of the movie after the mom has left the child) it reminded me of seeing the training that goes on now for the Olympic teams. I'm sure it was something I caught on Real Sports with Bryant Gumble or the like.
While I wouldn't show the whole movie to my 7th graders I do think that parts of it could be used. The California standard is very vague (5. Study the ninth and tenth centuries’ golden age of literature, art, and drama and its
lasting effects on culture today) but the movie could be used in very small snippets.
"Goodbye My Concubine" carries some deeper meanings. Originally the opera describes how a general has to leave his concubine after a battle is lost, both his concubine and himself committed suicide. In the movie the relationship between two opera performers has a tragic end. During the great changes, it is difficult for some to find their real identify.