A Close Analysis for a Single Scene in the Film Farewell My Concubine - Movie Review Example

?Scene Catalog Medium shot shows: Traditional music is playing and boys dressed up in costumes and practicing. Boys are gracefully moving in circles and hitting sticks all in-tune to the traditional Chinese music. The scene is of the veranda in the acting school that is lit by natural light. This scene is of 1 second. 2. The shift of the camera is edited. The scene opens as a medium shot of Master Guan welcoming Mister Na. The camera moves backward smoothly as the characters progress forward through a passageway in the training area. The camera follows Mr. Na and Guan as they continue to talk and walk fast. The lighting shifts as the man walks from the veranda with greater amount of daylight into the passageway with shadow and lesser light. This scene is approximately 15 seconds. 3. This is also a medium shot but here the camera pauses as the man observes Douzi. The natural light is falling on Douzi as he is standing outside in the veranda. Another medium shot of dancers practicing their act with loud music. 1 second 4. The music is muted as the camera shifts towards Douzi, this is a close-up. However, the camera frame is stationary as Douzi walks towards it. 1 second 5. Another medium shot of dancers practicing their act with loud music. The dancers are jumping, prancing and hitting sticks at the same time. 1 second 6. Douzi bows gracefully. Camera takes a close-shot of Xiaolou who has a stunned expression on his face. Scene is shot in the passageway that is dark with the only natural light coming from the sky that lights up the veranda. Mr. Na inquires from Douzi if he can sing old style opera. Camera stays on Mr. Na because Guan answers for him. Mister Na gets comfortable on a bench and waits for Douzi to perform. 7. The dancing boys stop, this scene too has been edited because it directly shows a close-shot of a group of boys standing still with Xiaolou in the centre. They have worried and stunned expressions on their faces. This is a 1 second shot. 8. The next shot is a close-up of Douzi delivering his lines with great feeling. In the flow of his performance, he delivers the key dialogue incorrectly as “…Yet I am by nature a boy, not a girl” and not the other way round. 9. A single frame shot of Xiaolou shows his annoyed expression. 10. Camera shifts back to Douzi in a close-up shot. He pauses as he realizes his error. This is a one second shot. 11. The next is a medium shot that is taken from behind Douzi as it shows his back. The camera focuses a medium shot at Mister Na as he gets up from his bench. The scene shows Mister Na deliberately walking past Douzi and progressing forward. 12. A close-up shot of Xiaolou standing with other performers with a very annoyed expression on his face. 1 second. 13. The camera shows medium shot in natural light as Mister Na progresses towards the veranda followed by Guan and performers. It also shows Douzi moving towards him as well. Mister Na progresses out of the frame. Xiaolou snatches a tobacco pipe from Master Lian’s hand. The camera now focuses on Xiaolou who spots Douzi and grabs him by the collar and shakes him. 14. The music becomes loud as Xiaolou keeps on shaking Douzi and drags him forward. 15. A 1 second shot of Mister Na, Guan and other elders stopping and looking at what is causing the commotion. 16. Another close-up shot of Douzi being shoved into a chair. 1 second 17. A sharp close-up shot of Xiaolou‘s face very angry and covered in tears. 2 seconds 18. A close-up of Douzi being shaken. Loud music with Xiaolou screaming at Douzi and asking him to open his mouth. Xiaolou shoves the hooked tip of the tobacco pipe towards it. 19. A medium 1 second shot of Mister Na and others staring horrified at the camera. 20. Next is a close-up of Douzi as he opens his mouth. A single frame shot of Xiaolou with his teeth clenched. The tobacco pipe is rammed into Douzi’s mouth and shoved back and forth like a toothbrush on the tongue. Douzi closes his eyes and tilts his head backward. 6 seconds 21. 1 second shot of Xiaolou struggling with the tobacco pipe. 22. A close-up shot with soft flute music as a single tear rolls down Douzi’s cheek and he closes his eyes tight in pain. 23. A close-up of Xiaolou as he pulls out the tobacco pipe and looks at the hooked end. 2 seconds 24. A medium shot of Xiaolou shouting and inviting the dancers to join him on the veranda. The music changes to the loud drumming sound as Xiaolou moves in circles in the center and all other performers revolve around him. 25. A close up shot of Douzi with a tear falling down his right cheek and a stream of blood flowing down the left corner of his mouth. 26. A close-up shot of Mister Na as he looks startled and stares at the moving dancers. Xiaolou and the others keep dancing at the loud music. Camera is still as it shows Douzi sitting on a chair and dancers hopping back and forth infront of him. 27. A close-up shot of Douzi as he starts delivery the dialogues. The music is still very loud so his voice cannot be heard. Douzi repeats his lines. 28. A close-up of musicians stopping each other from beating the drums. The lead musician taps his stick for encouragement. 29. Camera shifts towards the back of Douzi as he rises from his chair to deliver the lines. 30. Close-up of Douzi as he walks forward, rest of the performers follow him from behind. Soft music plays as he moves forward and starts to deliver the lines with gestures. The scene climaxes as Douzi delivers the lines perfectly, “I am by nature a girl, not a boy…” Scene Analysis from Farewell My Concubine The scene for analysis occurs approximately 30 minutes after the opening act. This is an important scene in terms of its role in the plot and the direction the character’s life would take. The scene depicts the complex relationship between two boys Douzi (Dieyi at a young age) and Xiaolou (also referred to as Shitou) who are students at the Peking Opera School. Another character Mister Na is introduced in this scene who has been appointed to evaluate the performers of the opera for Zhag’s birthday celebration. The acting done by the boys at this age is very impressive and natural. Especially young Douzi’s role involved a lot of gestures and face expressions, which were delivered to perfection. The character Douzi appears to be central in this scene. However, character movement in this scene involves three central figures Mister Na, Douzi and Xiaolou. Mister Na’s character requires for him to move very rapidly in the scene with little attention to his surroundings, he appears to be a busy man who does not want to spare the time of the day for boys in Peking Opera. Xialou appears to be the bossy and ruthless character in this scene, his movement is purposeful and almost cruel as he attempts to protect the reputation of the Peking Opera. Douzi’s character shows a range of emotions. While delivering his lines as dan, he acts with the poise and gentleness that the role demands. Yet when Xiaolou punishes him for his error, Douzi shows extreme strength and tolerance and accepts the punishments as his fate. The Art design is also exceptionally executed because although this movie was released in 1990s, the scene depicted in the film dates back to before World War II and Japanese invasion (Denby 84). The art design and costume design for the film are very pertinent to the times and depict a lot of colors and fervor. In order to execute flawless art design extensive research must be involved. The costumes as depicted in the times of Peking Opera were very colorful and embellished. The fact that the filmstrip has been processed in the last surviving three-strip Technicolor Labs in Shanghai has done great justice to the colorful costumes (Ebert). This scene did not require the painted make-up, which would be required in scenes shot on-stage because it is a practice scene. Lighting is primarily natural light since the majority of the scene is shot outdoors. Nevertheless, keeping in mind the climate of Beijing, it is not very sunny just illuminated enough to be clearly visible. Cinematography is perhaps the most magnificent aspect of the scenes as the Director has chosen very effective camera angles and lighting. They have combined long shots and close-ups in a very appropriate manner. Editing in this scene is also perfect because the editor has chopped-off a number of scenes that were unnecessary. In fact, the execution is crisp and impactful. The most important prop in this scene is the hot tobacco pipe that Xiaolou shoves into Douzi’s mouth. Other props include drums and dancing sticks. Both the music and sound effects are from a natural setting, which is created by the musicians who are playing the drums. However, there is some softer background score in flute, which can be heard in the emotional parts of the scene. An Analysis of the Sequence The scene opens with boys practicing in their on-stage costumes in the veranda of the Peking Opera School. Since most of these students are orphans or illegitimate children, they consider the school their home, where they learn the art of Opera performance in a harsh perfectionist manner (Ebert). The scene shows a man called Mister Na who has been commissioned by Zhang to pick performers for Zhang’s birthday celebration at their opera school. The school provides for these poor children as they train, so any form of monetary help is much awaited. Master Guan however appears to be a completely different man in front of Mister Na as he tries to appear humble and courteous to gain his favor. Master Guan even says, “You are like a fairy-godmother to us!” He further highlights that with his favor they could have finances to buy new clothes for the boys. Mister Na knows that he is in a position of power. He takes little notice of his surroundings and on the contrary warns Guan of that an inferior quality opera performance would cause him little disfavor but can result in Guan’s lock-up. Therefore, it appears that much lies in the hands of Mr. Na and there is no room for error. The scene shows that Mister Na is captivated as he sees Douzi dressed in a red Opera costume practicing his lines with gentle gestures. Douzi is bald and skinny yet he posses the gentleness of a “dan”. As soon as Guan spots the slightest interest from Mister Na, he asks Douzi to come forward and pay his respect. Mister Na then asks Douzi to perform the challenging female role from “Si Fan”. The key dialogue in this scene is “…Yet I am by nature a girl, not a boy”. These lines play a pivotal role in the entire plot of the movie in terms of character development of Douzi, his relationship with Xiaolou and his fame as the famous concubine. In the film, there are three scenes that show Dieyi reciting this line. However, whenever he should say, "I am by nature a girl, not a boy" he instead repeatedly says, "I am by nature a boy..." This mistake is intolerable to the agent and he begins to leave with the future of the troupe at risk. For punishment, Xiaolou grabs Master Guan’s hot tobacco pipe and forces it into Douzi’s mouth, and mercilessly stirs it, causing Douzi’s mouth to bleed. Moreover, the “stirring” actually is vital to the transition of Douzi’s gender identity. This scene actually is metaphor for “rape”. The long and straight tobacco pipe symbolizes the strong male genital organ. Shitou forces the pipe into Douzi’s mouth and mercilessly stirs it. This symbolizes the (procedure) of a drastic rape. Everything in the scene comes to a stand-still the moment the scarlet blood slowly bleeds down Douzi’s young face. The camera shows a close-up of Douzi’s face with blood dripping down the left side of his mouth in a smooth stream; this is actually more impactful than blood dripping down his entire mouth, which would happen if he had been punched. The single stream depicts a much deeper internal injury. It symbolizes Douzi, as a young virgin girl who has lost her “Virginity”. The later clip shows Xiaolou inspecting the pipe to check if blood is on it too, which is a typical behavior of an oppressor who wants to celebrate his conquest. The scene climaxes with Douzi’s soft voice whispering "I am by nature a girl, not a boy…" The scene that follows this one is of Douzi performing on-stage in front of a large audience dressed up as Dan. Thus this scene symbolizes the first step of his transition from the boy that he was into the concubine he becomes on stage. In fact the transition is so in-depth that Douzi begins to feel in his normal life as if he is the concubine and Xiaolou is the king. Douzi is also greatly emotionally affected by this scene in terms of character development. Together Dieyi plays the role of the concubine Yu Ji and Xiaolou plays the role of King of Chu in Farewell my Concubine. Upon losing the war Chu asks his concubine to leave and seek protection of the enemy life but Yu Ji chooses death over betraying the king (Kuoshu 73). In this particular scene Douzi starts to believe that Xiaolou truly is the king—the role that he plays on stage. Douzi believes that any act of the king towards his concubine is justified even physical violence. And the concubine needs to be loyal to the king, perform to please him and place his need before her own. Xiaolou’s character has been depicted as a very masculine one which is perhaps why he performs the role of the king on-stage. In this scene as well, his brutality and lack of penance for his actions puts him in the role of a “king”—a king who makes the law and is accountable to no one. Towards the end of the movie, Xiaolou even accuses Dieyi of being unrealistic and thinking that opera is his life. The Peking Opera in those times was male-dominated and thus female roles were also executed by men who painted their faces and were called “dan”. In those times it was not considered odd for anyone to play a complicated female role on-stage, it was treated it as an art form used in Peking Opera without any implication of homosexuality (Ying, 533). Playing a female lead on-stage is a very challenging role; which required for the performers to train brutally for years, dress like women, walk and talk like them ( Ying 534). Douzi in this scene is dressed in a red kimono is shown bald and without make-up. Although elements such as long hair or make-up would be more befitting the dan role he is expected to play on-stage but showing him in his natural appearance is very important to the plot. This is so because primarily Douzi is similar to the rest of the boys who are also bald and wearing kimonos. It is when he starts to deliver the lines and performs female gestures that he stands out from the rest. The camera also shifts to the back of Douzi after his failed performance so more emphasis can be made on Mister Na walking past him as if he is nothing. Furthermore, throughout the movie Master Guan appears to be a ruthless and unfeeling teacher who beats up the students weather they perform well or not, he appears to be spanking the lead performers as grown men too. In this scene we observe a humbling almost pathetic side of Master Guan, as he grapples in front of Mister Na for the sake of his opera’s future. The back-ground music is very appropriately chosen to depict intense and emotional scenes. The brutality of punishment for students would appear crude in the Western culture but during the times of Peking Opera, it was common. Thus, physical violence and endurance were superseded by principles of preserving an art form and learning to act. So when Xiaolou pushes a hot smoking pipe down Douzi’s throat it does not appear brutal to anyone. Because in spite of witnessing such a crude scene the boys join Xiaolou in a dance performance as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Douzi regains his confidence and delivers the lines perfectly instead of getting back at Xiaolou. Douzi perhaps realizes that the fate of the whole school and the future of the actors depend on his delivering the lines and pleasing Mister Na. In this scene heroism and friendship has a new definition. Because in most movies we see heroes as people who strike back and get even. In this particular scene Douzi does nothing of the sort, instead he uses the punishment inflicted upon him as a means of gaining strength. Furthermore on the surface it may appear that Xiaolou is the one who saves the day because his ruthless behavior in a way helped Douzi deliver the lines properly. On the contrary it is Douzi who shows immense strength and endurance as he rises above his inhibitions for the sake of opera and the future of his school. Works Cited Chen Kaige. Dir. Farewell my Concubine. Marimax Classics. 1993. Film Denby, D. A Half Century at the Opera. New York Magazine. Oct 25, 1993. Web. 16 March 2012. Ebert, Roger. Farewell my Concubine. October 29, 1993. Web. 16 March 2012 LIANG, Ying. "Making The Familiar Strange And The Strange Familiar--Farewell, My Concubine And Its Crossing National Borders." US-China Foreign Language 9.8 (2011): 530-538. Print Zhang, Jenny. Chinese Movies-Farwell my Concubine. Sep 15, 2010. Web. 16 March 2012 Koushu, Harry. Celluloid China: Cinematic Encounters with Culture and Society. Nov 19, 2002. Southern Illinois University Press. 73 Print Read More