A young boy, Douzi, is abandoned by his prostitute mother to a Peking opera troupe supervised by Master Guan. There, Douzi befriends another boy about his age, Shitou.
A teenage … See more

Chen Kaige was first given a copy of Lilian Lee's novel in 1988, and although Chen found the story of the novel to be "compelling", he found the emotional subtext of the novel "a bit thin". After meeting wit… See more

The historical background of the film is multi-layered and complicated, which contributes to the motif and the form of the film. The 1990s period saw China trying to improve country's image after controversial protests th… See more

The film premiered in Shanghai in July 1993 but was removed from theatres after two weeks for further censorial review, and subsequently banned in August. Because the film won the Palme d'Or at the 1993 Cannes Fil… See more