As China approaches the twenty-first century, the people tries harder to defy tradition and remove themselves from the long history of their culture. The film "Farewell my Concubine" reflects that sentiment. This film centers around two performers of the traditional Chinese opera but both of them involving themselves in a relationship that would be condemned by tradition. The director Chen Kaige follows the lives of these two men from Chen Dieyi entering the opera troupe until his death. Because this film tells an uncommon tale, it is relatively difficult to understand and relate to the feelings of the main characters. The life of Chen Dieyi begins in an extraordinary way. He was brought to the Beijing opera troupe because his mother could no longer support him while being a prostitute. (Side note: This section of the film seems to be taken from the life of Jackie Chan. While his mother was not a prostitute, he was brought to the Beijing opera troupe by his parents because they were not able to support him.) Because the master complained about Dieyi's pinky, his mother makes the radical move to get her son into the academy by cutting off his finger. This film opens with an extraordinary sequence of events and immediately foreshadows the difficult life ahead of Dieyi. From his homosexuality to his obsession to the theater, Dieyi is a perfect example of a person who experienced extreme trauma during his childhood. While the discipline by the schoolmaster is not uncommon in China, it is only recently that these cruel acts of inhumane treatments are discussed. Unlike the previous films, "Farewell my Concubine" was filmed with more modern filming techniques and the colors are much more vivid. The filming of this movie resembles a Jackie Chan film rather than something like "Red Sorghum" or "Yellow Earth." But while the filming is more appealing to the present generation of viewers, the topic is very abstract and even disturbing at times. Nevertheless, this film was well done as a product of Art while it is hard to imagine why this was so popular amongst viewers.

Films are frequently produced as a method of reflecting the trends of certain time periods in a country's or countries' history. Farewell My Concubine by Chen Kaige is a primary example of this instance. In this film, Chen portrayed the changing times in China through the famous Peking opera Farewell My Concubine. This opera was led by Chen Dieyi and Duan Xiaolu. These two individuals underwent the grueling training at a young age and finally blossomed into the lead performers in the opera with Duan playing the role of he king and Chen playing the role of the concubine. Coincidentally, China was experiencing major alterations in its structure and the struggle of the two characters as actors on stage and in their real lives paralleled the events occurring in that country at the time. As China underwent the invasion of the Japanese, the rule of the Nationalists, the control under the communists, and the Cultural Revolution, numerous individuals had difficulty adapting to the speed in which these alterations were taking place. Many people found it impossible to change their lifestyles so suddenly and so dramatically. However, there was little that can be done. Under the communist government, one either change or perish. The story of Chen Dieyi clearly depicts this situation. He was an individual who had trouble adjusting to the numerous changes that were occurring around him. He disliked the presence of Juxian in his life as she took his partner away form him. Moreover, he despised the new manner in which opera was presented to the audience. He simply could not change himself and refused to even make an attempt. He disliked the events in the real China and hid behind his costumes and make-up. For an individual such as him in that time period, he could no longer exist in this new era. At one point in the film, Chen asked Duan why the concubine must die. In essence, he is wondering why the old and traditional methods of living cannot continue to flourish. He wonders why he cannot continue to sing with Duan for the rest of their lives. Chen is extremely similar to the concubine role he plays. He fails to adapt and eventually must perish. Hence, film has the ability to retell history from a different perspective utilizing various characters. This is demonstrated by Chen Kaige in Farewell My Concubine. It focuses on the numerous changes that occurred in China during its modernization and the difficulty experienced by countless people. Chen Dieyi represented these individuals as he demonstrates his inability to adjust to the alterations in his life. His failure to modify his lifestyles resulted in his demise. Hence, this film was more than simply saying farewell to a concubine. It was also paying its final respects to China's past.