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PEKING
OPERA BLUES (1986)
Reviewed
by Andrew Saroch
Three
of Hong Kong's greatest leading ladies combine in Tsui Hark's
sumptuous masterpiece. Lin plays the daughter of a corrupt
general who is secretly conspiring with rebels to remove her
father from power. She is initially aided by a lone rebel
(Mark Cheng), but as the narrative progresses they are joined
by one of the general's former guards, a beautiful yet
conniving young woman and a feisty member of a local Opera
troupe. As they face various obstacles in their bid to seize
an incriminating letter, the five form a powerful bond that
helps them against a far more sadistic foe than the general.
'Peking
Opera Blues' was made over fifteen years ago, but is still as
fresh as it was then. Tsui Hark is certainly one of the best
directors to come out of Hong Kong and continues to push back
the boundaries of the genres he works within while always
being accessible to a mainstream audience. Perhaps that is why
he is unjustly ignored by the world-wide cinematic
intelligentsia; his films (apart from the woefully
self-conscious 'The Blade') really capture the imagination and
do not try to distance themselves from the viewer. This style
of film-making was in very short supply in the Hong Kong
cinema of the mid-90's and is only now beginning to seep back
into it.
The
three female stars are simply flawless with each offering a
different aspect to the film's overall feel. Hollywood often
parades a film around as some feminist masterpiece if it has a
top actresses at the head of the cast; this film manages to
give the audience three such leads, but without ever
endangering the audience empathy. Mark Cheng is solid in a
strong support role as is the always reliable Kenneth Tsang as
the corrupt general. With a superbly presented Mega Star DVD
available, there is no excuse for a Hong Kong film fan not to
have this in their collection.
Rating:
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