An Interview with Chen Kaige
After Farewell My Concubine, why did you decide to make a film that focused on a love story between a man and a woman?

In the beginning, I made Temptress Moon because I wanted to tell a story about human sexuality, especially the sexuality of a woman. I do not believe female sexuality has to be approved by men before it is logical. Female sexuality should be respected. Later, a lot of changes were made and the story was no longer solely about sexuality.


Why did you situate the film in Shanghai of the 1920s?

Shanghai is the most important metropolis in contemporary China. In the 1920s, the city absorbed a lot of immigrants. People from different places, bringing with them different dialects and languages. Life was barbaric but full of vitality. The 30s and the 40s brought law and order. That is why the film is situated in the 20s. China and Shanghai in the 20s and the 90s are very similar. They are both decades of transition for the country. These transitory periods bring with them opportunities but also pain and uncertainty. There is a price for everything and therefore they all try to find a way to escape. The story is based on the human need to escape and one may see it as a story about the 90s as well.


What do you think are the differences between Farewell My Concubineand Temptress Moon?

Farewell My Concubine treats its characters in the context of the society they are caught in. It depicts how people's lives are influenced by the changes around them. Every person reacts differently to the changes. On the contrary, Temptress Moon sees society through the people who live in it. In other words, through understanding the characters, you will become more informed about the China of today.

What do you want to say through the character Zhongliang played by Leslie Cheung?

Zhongliang is a gigolo in the film but deep in his heart, he is still remotely attached to the innocence of his childhood. At fifteen, his unconventional love for his sister ended in bitterness. Love becomes the one thing he can no longer commit himself to. When he meets Ruyi, he realizes that he finally has to face his inner-self. He tries to retrieve the childhood innocence which was destroyed together with his unrequited love years ago - but what is lost is lost. His profession is not the only mental block that stands in his way. It is his fear of himself that has become all-consuming. Amidst the chaos of the time, he represents the theme of the need to escape. In portraying the heavily layered psychological struggle of Zhongliang, Leslie Cheung's performance is a splendid one. In him, we see the agony of an era.

What about Gong Li's Ruyi? Who is she?

To her, sexuality is the energy which vitalizes her life and allows her to burn like a glowing flame. In the end, sexuality becomes the agent of her destruction. From the beginning scene where she is inhaling the opium smoke, her fate is already sealed. Together, she and Zhongliang bring out the theme of an era's need to escape and the sacrifices that are made. She personifies the tragic beauty which illuminates the whole film. Her strength comes from her insistence to be true to herself. However, she is ultimately destroyed becaused she is too honest. An honest person is something that the world cannot handle. Ruyi is like a flaming torch. Those who are groping in the dark will feel inferior when they are touched by her brightness. Their solution is to find a way to snub out the flame in her. However, I do not intend Ruyi to be an embodiment of perfection. She is just a person who is in touch with strength and beauty while she is growing up. My screenplay collaborator, Ms Wang Anyi said, "You must not make Ruyi the Chinese version of Carmen. Ruyi is totally at peace with herself. Don't spoil her tranquillity for the sake of dramatic tension. Even you and I are unable to reach the balanced state of mind that she is in. Her tranquillity is her weapon against a world in chaos."

The characters in the film are surviving precariouly between and old and a new society. Actually, I would have liked to call the opening sequence of the film, "The Last Night". The sequence encompasses every element that belongs to the old world. Everything evolves from this last night of an era. When the three children are playing in front of the temple, a new era is dawning on them. Unfortunately, the poison of the old world is already in them.