The subject matter of Tsui Hark's Peking Opera Blues lends itself to all kinds of action adventure extravagance, being centered on a social uprising against the republic of China....confined to a theater. These two elements both pave way for exciting set pieces ( Hong Kong action seems to understand that musicals are precursors to action films). But the characterization is so effective the characters never get lost in action and the film deals with not one, not two, but three female protagonists. The ladies, Tsao Wan (Brigitte Lin), a patriotic rebel who dresses as a man; Sheung Hung (Cherie Chung), a woman in search of a missing box of jewels; and Bai Niu (Sally Yeh), the daughter of a Peking Opera impresario are the emotional center of the film. The film avoids casting any of its leads into the cliches that happen with women in action movies, they all maintain their femininity and in some cases that puts them at a disadvantage and the same time they are strong but not some inhuman super women. The movie also has no qualms about questioning our hero's motives and even depict them as shallow. There's plenty of action films with badass women but idea of the unlikely hero as women is sometimes difficult thanks to reverse sexism that doesn't allow female parts to have fleshed out flaws. No I don't intend to turn this into a feminist rant to pretend I care about women so that they'll sleep with me..... I was just taking back how female centric the film was. On that note everyone should take note of Bechdale Test which this film passes.
Leaving off on the subject of female stereotypes, its interesting to note that film seems aware of these cliches since what is expected of women is constantly pushed on them. Twice in the film the girls are forced to play the seductive women's role which coincidentally the two girls are terrible at and makes for a lot of laughs. If there's a western film I'd compare Peking Opera Blues to it'd be Lubitsch's To Be or Not To Be, with both film's dealing with the acting aspect of deception that comes into play during war. Bai Niu (these names are going to drive me up a fucking wall before this review is done) has always wanted to star in one of her father's productions but during the period it was not costume for women to actually play women's roles. Bai Niu gets her time to shine on stage before the film is over but its hardly in the way she expects. Tsao Wan ( the patriotic rebel) is turning against her own father in her act of aiding the rebels; her spending most of the film dressed like a man is the film's greatest indicator of role playing especially from the female perspective. The least deceptive character Sheung Hung is oddly probably the heart of film and she has the least at steak, her motivations are actually pretty selfish but the fact that the film allows us to sympathize with her the most is what makes Peking Opera Blues one of the most progressive and accomplished action films I've seen. The greatest scene for me is where these three girls simply bond and have a sleep over, its a brief little scene where characters get to cast off their identities and just be themselves and it happens a little more than half way through the movie like a calm before the storm but mostly because they get to temporarily stop acting . Slant Magazine did a piece called 100 Essential Films (which everyone should read) and in their entry on To Be or Not to Be there's a quote I really wanted to steal and take credit for. 'Why are the actors in the film so good at understanding and predicting human behavior? Perhaps it's because these rebels, namely Benny's ham, are in touch with their insecurities in ways that elude the Nazi buffoons they target.' Same goes for this film where the women stay one step ahead by anticipating their enemies perceptions about them.
I guess should also talk about the action sequences. I mentioned in my review of Tiger on The Beat how well that film incorporates comedic sensibilities. Hong Kong genre films always seem more mailable than their American counterparts, never being afraid to switch tone. Likewise Peking Opera Blues action sequences are set up more like comedic set pieces with a very specific set up and punchline. Much of the big sequences happen within the theater, and Hark as great sense of mechanics, punctuating these action sequences with pitfalls. Hark seems to have an affection for theater and its apparent in his sequences which really aren't heavily edited he seems to want to showcase his craftsmanship up front, he trusts his actors physicality and his own control over the environment. Hong Kong for a while apparently had the reputation of making Hollywood action films look creatively bankrupt, why don't you people be the judge. Lastly, the entry for this film in 1,001 Movies you must see before you die is the unintentionally funniest one in the book. With the author morning the current state of Hong Kong cinema to becoming actively angry at the shape the industry is in.
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