On stage, he was a woman
THE biopic Forever Enthralled (Chinese title: Mei Lanfang) is an effort to capturethe great master during three periods of his life.
First, as he defeats a elder stage rival and becomes a favoriteof the day; then, as he conducts a romance with a female star who plays male roles (Zhang Ziyi); and last, when he defies Japanese invaders and refuses to perform.
In subject matter, this is filmmaker Chen Kaige's follow-up to Farewell, My Concubine, which is artistically the better film. Some say the 1993 film is a veiled biographyof Mei Lanfang because it featured one of his signature roles.
In Forever Enthralled, Chen has not kept strictly to the facts of Mei's life. Several of the supporting characters in the film are composites. And the matter of Mei's three wives, whom he was married to at the same time for a while, receives less emphasis. Wife No 1 is not in the film at all and Wife No 3 is downgraded to a mere affair.
Mei does not come across as sharp and three-dimensional in this elaborateperiod drama. His character does not change or show moral anguish.
Beautiful woman
In the film, Mei Lanfang does not hesitate much before throwing down the gauntlet to the older master. He does not suffer from qualms of guilt when he flirts with the Zhang Ziyi character while his wife watches from a balcony. He does not hesitate when choosing to give up the stage in Japanese-occupied Shanghai.
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