This was either something recommended to me by one of my multicultural friends or by Blockbuster, I can't remember which. I watched it about a week ago over the span of several days. Sadly, I have been so incredibly busy that I haven't really had time to watch any movies, especially not in one sitting. I guess it wasn't really fair to this film to break it up like that, but I was tired, and it is kind of slow and sometimes confusing.Overall, I did enjoy it. It was quite facinating—it spanned five decades of extreme change in China, incorporating the story of two lifelong friends and the Chinese opera Farewell My Concubine. I learned a lot, but there were parts where I wish I knew more about Chinese history, since the filmmakers assumed the audience would be familiar with it and didn't explain. (Their main audience was Chinese, after all.) I think this was the main reason I didn't give it a higher rating, whether that's fair or not.
But like I said, it was fascinating, and I would recommend it highly to anyone with an interest in China, foreign cultures, music, or history. I feel like I know so much more about the world and human nature after watching it. It was complex and dramatic—and facinating. Did I say that already?
Rating: 3.0
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