Peking Opera Blues

Tsui Hark's film, set in China in 1913, with three women at its centre. The republic is newly founded, generals run their own regions and politics is chaotic. Three women arrive at the same place for different reasons: a general's daughter after secret revolutionary documents; a musician trying to take a share of war loot; and a third who wants to perform in the Peking opera, where women are forbidden on stage. The narrative knots itself inside an opera house and proceeds through changed identities, disguises and misunderstandings. The film is at once a political conspiracy story, a comedy and a martial arts film; Tsui Hark switches between them scene by scene. Its women are unusual for Hong Kong cinema of the period: all three act on their own aims and there is no man at the centre of the story. Brigitte Lin, Sally Yeh and Cherie Chung lead. The fights were shot on wires and the pace is kept high throughout. One of the liveliest examples of its moment for anyone who likes Hong Kong cinema and mixed genres. For a viewer expecting a single genre, the film changes register constantly, and on a first viewing that can be tiring.