When Cheng Dieyi and and Duan Xiaolou were dragged outside and Xiaolou was dishing the dirt on Dieyi and his wife he seemed to find it hard to actually say what he believed the relationship between Dieyi and Master Yuan was.
He was utterly distraught when talking about it.
My question is; is this his disgust at the homosexuality OR was it jealousy as deep down he had romantic and sexual feelings for Dieyi?
Thanks for your thoughts.
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It was the difficulty he had betraying his closest friend in the entire world. There was a very strong possibility Dieyi would be put to death as a result of these accusations, yet Xiaolou felt he had no alternative if he wanted to save his own life. Imagine being in that situation, having to choose between your life and that of the person you love most. You know that to save yourself, you have to admit every little thing the other person has done, and that in doing so, you are potentially signing that person's death warrant.
shareThanks very much for your post ComtessaLaRue, great point.
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You summed it up quite nicely, ComtesssaLaRue. That scene has got to be the most powerful in the entire film for me because it showed the agony people were put through during the Cultural Revolution when forced to betray and denounce their closest loved ones in an attempt to save their own lives.
Even more haunting was the fact that Xiaolou had always been the King to Dieyi's concubine and unlike in the play, the King betrayed his loyal concubine to save himself. Leslie Cheung's acting was fantastic throughout and I loved his delivery when he stood up and pointed the finger back at Xiaolou and said, "Now even the King of Chu is on his knees begging for mercy!"
Such a powerful scene.
Namu Myoho Renge Kyo
Thanks for your input. I agree, the scene was very heavy and powered with emotion.
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the King betrayed his loyal concubine to save himself.