Forever Enthralled
Mei was the first artist to spread Beijing Opera to foreign countries, participating in cultural exchanges with Japan, the United States, and other regions. He toured the world, forming friendships with the western contemporaries of his day, including Charlie Chaplin. In 1930 he toured North America, visiting Hollywood, where he was welcomed by Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford. In 1935, Mei toured Europe, playing to appreciative audiences in Berlin and Moscow. Seeing Mei perform especially impressed the German playwright Bertold Brecht and influenced his concept of the alienation effect. He served as one of the mentors and guardians of the actress Li Yuru as she began her career,Ni Dong Wo De Ai
Performed by Ziyi Zhang, Leon Lai,Though I don't have much knowledge in Pekin Opera, this traditional Chinese art is enchanting to us. The first part of this film reminded us of Farewell to My Concubine (a film directed by Chen Kaige decades ago) as it's nearly an imitation of homosexual love. I had to agree with Tracy when she said the "great" director made "Broken Back Mount" again disguised in our traditional art form, a mundane story in a luxurious robe ( a bad metaphor or simile) . The background music is genial, triggering your memory for a film decades ago.Luckily, the appearance of Zhang Ziyi at the middle of the stage, in white robe halts the tune of love between two men. THe two lovers fall into love as planned, a mediocre plot again. But destine or fate or enthusiasm for art or unfair life get them close to each other but separate them later no matter how much gallantry artists show on stage or in life. Although it's featured by super stars, the protagonist fail to distinguish in continuous conflict of paradox, every role seems to have his or her own charm to trigger sympathy from the audience. I want to say Pekin Opera is a traditional art of long and glorious history with a galaxy of artists dedicated to it. Maybe it's true sometimes it is associated with hidden oppression on human emotion and thinking and manifest its extremism in aestheticism in seeming like abnormality of human being or sometimes the Pekin opera singers outdid themselves in rendition of blend of sentiments, however, the tremendous artistic beauty survives the deviation from authentic art.,