1993

Top attraction

FAREWELL MY CONCUBINE  

Madonna, of all people, has taken up the cause of this remarkably sophisticated Chinese epic about two Peking Opera performers and the woman - and revolutions - that comes between them.  The ever-naughty pop star held a star-studded party for the film and director Chen Kaige.  Is it, do you suppose, the character of Juxian (Gong Li), the tough, scheming prostitute, who strikes a chord in the Madonna psyche?  Or perhaps it's the gay angle, a subject long dear to Madonna's heart.  The movie's most fascinating character, played by Hong Kong actor Leslie Cheung (above), identifies intensely with the female role he plays in the opera.  He's not really a drag queen, but a queen nonetheless.  In love with his longtime male co-star (Zhang Fengyi), he bitterly resents the woman his bi friend impetuously takes as a bride.

There's a good catty exchange or two.  The early scenes are rough, with boys - future would-be Peking Opera performers - enduring shocking abuse from a schoolmaster who believes that perfection is something to be beaten into a child.  Along with the colorful opera sequences, a century of political tumult makes for a dramatic background.  It's stunning work.  Madonna seems to have taste when it comes to other people's films.  So why are her own movies so stinky?

THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS