Farewell My Concubine's Love Triangle through 

Mise-en-scene

Farewell My Concubine can be said to focus on a love triangle of sorts between the characters of Juxian, Dieyi, and Xiaolou. The mise-en-scene in this film emphasizes the level of balance between all three characters that swings precariously back and forth throughout.

Most of the film shows the balance between the main characters largely through a black and white costume motif.

This is a shot from relatively early on in the film when both Dieyi and Xiaolou are fairly balanced in their relationship. They both wear pure white, the area is bathed in white light, and the shot is almost perfectly balanced with the two men sitting at their desks. However, the gender roles of a man and a woman together are still emphasized to a degree with Dieyi’s side showcasing more vibrant colors of yellow and red whereas Xiaolou’s side is composed entirely of a monotone white.

            One of the first scenes that has all three characters together comes when Dieyi first meets Juxian. Xiaolou is placed between the two of them and it’s important to note how Dieyi is still in his concubine costume. Through a static look at this shot we can see in physical terms the choice facing Xiaolou between his two “women”. It is important to keep in mind how Dieyi is in his concubine costume for most of the middle section of this film because it keeps in mind the opinion Xiaolou has that Dieyi is simply obsessed with the part of Concubine Yu. What’s odd about this particular scene is how Dieyi is portrayed as more stereotypically feminine than Juxian. Juxian has a fairly conservative dress to her while Dieyi has an ornate headpiece with a vibrant dress (composed of yellows and reds as we saw earlier around the shot of his desk) and very stylized makeup covering his face. We can also tell in this scene how each of the three will carry on their attitudes toward the love triangle in the future. Xiaolou has a very oblivious look on his face as he scans Dieyi trying to figure out why his friend seems so resilient to Juxian’s presence. He maintains this oblivious nature about Dieyi’s feelings throughout the film, arguably up to and including the end where he doesn’t realize what Dieyi is doing with his sword. Dieyi has a combination of restraint and bitterness enmeshed in his expression. Throughout the film his bitterness often overtakes him and becomes immediately apparent in his expressions. Juxian has a sort of half smile as she does throughout the film where she tries and fails to make peace with Dieyi.  Notice also hos Juxian and Xiaolou differ in terms of color scheme compared to Dieyi. Juxian and Xiaolou wear a balance of black and white portraying them as the more reasonable figures while Dieyi is ostracized.

           

            In this shot we see another way in which there is an attempt at showing the relationship between all three main characters through a single shot where they all simultaneously appear. To start with we have the reappearing color scheme where Xiaolou and Juxian are dressed in pure white clothing and Dieyi appears in direct contrast in a black suit, making him out to be a “black sheep” of sorts. Also, we see here that Xiaolou is glaring down at Dieyi, taking the most aggressive position in this shot. In a way, he almost looks like a father figure about to scold his child Dieyi. Dieyi is positioned at a significantly lower spot in comparison to the other two. It is important to note that within the context of the story Dieyi had arrived before Juxian and Juxian was purposely placed into this position when she arrived. Juxian holds her hands out in what can be seen as a sort of comforting motion. Juxian in this scene and in almost all of her other scenes always seems to take on a maternal figure instead of a sexualized figure. She is always dressed quite modestly and is always seen taking care of the other men.

 

This shot in particular epitomizes the image of Juxian as a motherly figure as she reaches out to Dieyi to wipe Xiaolou’s spit from his face.

This shot lends another strong image of Dieyi as a child and Xiaolou and Juxian as parental figures, particularly with Dieyi’s downcast head signifying a child who feels guilty and the way Juxian is faced towards Xiaolou as she attempts to calm him down in order to spare Dieyi his anger.

We also get scenes like this one where Dieyi and Xiaolou are placed right back into their childhood lives. The color scheme returns but the colors are more muted, drawing more attention to just how all three characters are dressed. What is most interesting here is how now both Dieyi and Xiaolou are portrayed like children while the motherly figure Juxian looks on. The two men are now dressed rather similarly as opposed to Juxian who has a more stereotypical feminine image holding a purge and wearing a dress with her body more visible than in previous outfits. It is important to point out that in terms of the plot this is where Juxian starts to become more separated from the other two, leading to the scene where Xiaolou rejects Juxian in front of the communist party.

            There are two key love relationships to note in this love triangle. Both of which are destroyed by the third party throughout the film. The first pair is between Xiaolou and Dieyi.

This shot emphasizes the effect of Juxian on the relationship between Dieyi and Xiaolou. Her heel shatters the glass near Dieyi’s head exhibiting a subconscious desire to detach Dieyi from Xiaolou. We can also see the stereotypical feminine image of a flower on a garment that is slowly engulfing the picture frame representing Juxian’s creeping influence on the relationship between Dieyi and Xiaolou.

            There is a similar shot that utilizes a picture frame to display the tear between Xiaolou and Juxian.

Though more subtle than a heel through a picture frame, one can still see how the candle purposely reflected in the picture frame divides Juxian and Xiaolou. Notice how the candle edges more towards Xiaolou over Juxian, possibly representing Dieyi’s attachment to Xiaolou over Juxian. Also note how the candle re-introduces the color motif of red and yellow contrasted with black and white.

Within the same scene we get a shot that epitomizes the relationship between all three main characters. The one candle in focus with its large ornate base visible represents Xiaolou. He is the strong sturdy ever present visual to this film that sees much of the misfortune take place around him but does not experience it as the other two characters do. In the foreground we have a second candle representing Dieyi who is like Xiaolou’s candle in some ways, yet smaller and less visible. The base color of Dieyi’s candle almost seems to blend with the dress of Juxian hanging next to it. As for Juxian, her body dangles lifelessly between the two candles reflecting literally how she was killed for getting caught up in the conflict between the two men. Her dangling body also seems to represent the ultimate death in femininity of all forms by the end of the film. Both Juxian and Dieyi’s ideas of femininity seem to be removed by suicide as if femininity couldn’t find its way into the evolving political landscape of China. Within this shot we see the relationships of the three composed together for what is essentially the last time within the film. The black base of Xiaolou’s candle is paired with Juxian’s dangling white feet while Xiaolou and Dieyi are paired together by sharing the red candle base and the yellow flame. All three are eternally linked by their red bodies, arguably symbolizing their link to the land of China itself particularly in terms of its political climate.