Peking Opera Blues Essay

Life imitates art. This statement is truly applicable to the real life. Art and life are closely connected: life is art in some way, while art is a reflection of the life. There is a strong relation of historical period, the time to what is depicted in various art works. It includes different aspects of our life: politics, economics, culture, etc. Art penetrates into the issues that worry the humanity but at the same time life sometimes is so unbelievable that it may be considered to be an art piece.
Tsui Hark, the director of Peking Opera Blues, created an unprecedented picture where theatrical traditions combine with a dynamic cinematographic performance. There is a unique Peking Opera in China that shows trick theater elements along with vivid costumes and specific vocals. The plot is focused on three different characters, three women who have completely dissimilar destinies. One woman is searching a missing jewel box, another is the daughter of impresario of Peking opera and the third is a rebel who plays a game against her father in the patriotic fight. They all three are involved in a conspiracy that is aimed at getting secret documents on which the future of the whole country depends.
The lives of the three women reminds of theater. They all are playing roles: one pretends to be a man; another woman hides from her father to be able to play on the stage. They live a life that imitates art. But what about blues in the title of the movie? Blues in this case means sadness and melancholy. The sadness about the lost dreams and aspirations, about the injustice and the endless fight for the good.