Parthistoricaldrama,partthriller,andpartcomedy,TsuiHark’sPekingOperaBlues(1986)invites—ifnotdemands—examinationsfrommultipleperspectives.TanSeeKamrisestothechallengeinthisstudybyfirstsituatingTsuiinaSinophonecontext.Thediasporicdirectorexploresdifferentdimensionsof“Chineseness”inthefilmbydepictingcompetingversionsofChinesenationalismandpresentingcharactersspeakingtwoChineselanguages,CantoneseandMandarin.IntheprocesshecompelsviewerstorecognizethemultiplicitiesoftheChineseidentityandrethinkwhatconstitutesculturalChineseness.
Thechallengetoasingledefinitionof“Chinese”isalsoembodiedbytheplayfulpastichesofdiversematerials.Inaseriesofintertextualreadings,TanrevealsthefullcomplexityofPekingOperaBluesbyplacingitatthecenterofaweboftextsconsistingofTsui’searlierfilmShanghaiBlues(1984),HongKong’sMandarinCanto-popsongs,the“three-women”filmsinChinese-languagecinemas,andofcourse,traditionalPekingopera,whoserole-types,makeup,anddresscodeenrichthemeaningofthefilm.
InTan’sportrayal,TsuiHarkisafilmmakerwhomakesmasterlyuseofpostmodernisttechniquestoaddresspostcolonialconcerns.Morethanaquarterofacenturyafteritsrelease,Tanshows,PekingOperaBluesstillreverberatesinthepresenttime.
HONGKONG THREE CHINESE MAKEUP HARK WOMEN TYPES OPERA
