Why kill himself years later?

but not in the book.( I just finished reading it) In the film, you can clearly hear Dieyi's body hitting the floor- It was more than good acting, my friend. He was dead. The smile on Xiaolou's face was not indicative of Dieyi having only been acting- He smiled that slight smile because he knew that Dieyi lived and died for the opera. Dieyi spent his entire life obsessing over the opera because it was all he'd ever known. His suicide was bittersweet for Xiaolou (hence the smile) because he understood why Dieyi chose to kill himself. They were old by that time and unable to perform as they once had- Dieyi felt such divine love in that final performance with Xiaolou that he wanted to end his life that way. He was 'faithful to the King unto death.'

Baba mi Ogun modupue

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I really do wonder why there needs to be so many 'well, im chinese so i understand the film whereas you non-chinese cannot possibly' comments on these boards.

Obviously either being chinese or being very familiar with chinese tradition, culture and ways of thinking can help in understanding the intricacies of such a film. But the overiding themes of the film are surely universal? And the style of film seems to owe as much to classical hollywood storytelling as it does chinese cinema. Quite frankly your post only emphasises this point as it merely repeats the opinions of what many (likely non-chinese) people have just posted - namely that Douzi kills himself as a result of his obsession with his art.

I'm sorry, I don't mean for this to be a personal attack in any way, I just found the tone of this - and some previous postings i'd seen on this and other films - at least a little patronising, if not downright offensive.

I think there are many levels as to the reason Dieyi killed himself, just as the film itself can be appreciated at many levels. Narrative-wise, according to the book, Dieyi waited 11 years because they were sent to correction camps to do hard labor. Their last performance was the first time they reunited. This was confusing because Dieyi and Xiaolou appeared to have been released by the Red Guards in the film.

As to why Dieyi didn’t commit suicide earlier, I think the Cultural Revolution was the biggest turning point in his life. It was the first time that the art of opera was condemned by the ruling regime. Moreover, not only did Dieyi and Xiaolou betrayed each other during the Red Guard denouncement, they also came closest to confronting their ambiguous relationship (this was the first time Xiaolou revealed how he felt about Dieyi sleeping with Yuan), and lashing out with years of pent-up pain caused by earlier betrayals.

Juxian remained loyal to Xiaolou through the Red Guard ordeal, and her suicide demonstrated how much she loved Xiaolou. I agree with an earlier poster that Juxian had somewhat usurp Dieyi’s concubine role. Dieyi felt guilty for pushing her to her death, and he would certainly think that he failed to measure up to what Juxian could do for Xiaolou in that incident. Overall, it was not difficult to imagine how hard the traumatic experience of the Cultural Revolution had hit Dieyi.

Dieyi’s and Xiaolou’s reunification was bittersweet. From a very young age, Dieyi had fed on Xiaolou’s gentleness and loyalty for him. But now, Dieyi had come to face the reality that Xiaolou could never return his love. For years, Dieyi tried to survive a life of suffering caused by different things beyond his control. Now, he decided to take fate into his own hands.

Dieyi had been the happiest when he played Yuji opposite of Xiaolou before Juxian came. After they went their separate ways, Dieyi transferred his passion for Xiaolou to the Peking opera, living in a lie and state of denial. Dieyi had continued to believe that Xiaolou, who always protected him, was truly his Ba Wang, but Xiaolou gradually became a coward who finally betrayed him. When Xiaolou joked about how he couldn’t perform as he did before, Dieyi realized that they could never return to the happy days when he believed he would always be Xiaolou’s Yuji. He had woken up from his dream.

So Dieyi decided to give his final, perfect performance, choosing to end his drama in the way he wanted- on the stage that had increasingly become his life, performing the art he loved, beside the man he loved. By dying as “Ba Wang’s” lover, Dieyi could finally embody the role that he most wanted to play but could never play in real life.