by Linda Kay
Original Title: Ba wang bie ji
Directed by: Kaige Chen
Synopsis: This epic historical drama follows the lives of Douzi (Leslie Cheung) and Shitou (Fengyi Zhang) who first meet in a brutal Peking Opera training school and subsequently become celebrities, playing opposite each other as the Concubine and the King. Their complicated relationship is further threatened by marriage and political upheaval.
Purr Blur: Late in the film Douzi, now known by the stage name Cheng Dieyi, has become an opium addict. He is lying at home in bed dictating a letter while smoking with a black cat named Lucky.
Douzi leans over and blows opium smoke into the cat’s face.
His longtime associate comments on how Lucky enjoys it and that it makes her come to life. Douzi pulls the cat up onto his chest for a cuddle.
Final Mewsings: Do not inflict your own addictions on your cat.
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