Forever Enthralled was produced on a budget of $15 million by the China Film Group and Taiwan's China Magnetics Corporation Company, which had previously helped fund John Woo's Red Cliff and Alexi Tan's Blood Brothers. Unlike Chen's previous film, The Promise, Chen is not re-teaming with his usual producers, Etchie Stroh and Moonstone Entertainment. Just prior to the film's release in December 2008, Forever Enthralled producer, the China Film Group, ran into legal hurdles after it was sued by another production company, Milimeter. Milimeter claimed that it held the copyright to the film based on a contract signed between the two companies in 2004. In an interview with Newsweek, director Chen Kaige stated that in contrast with his previous film about Beijing opera, "Farewell My Concubine is fiction" whereas "Mei Lanfang existed in history." In Farewell, Chen had more freedom with the story, but with the biographical Mei Lanfang, Chen was more careful as the film was made under the blessings of Mei Lanfang's family and Chen consulted with Mei's son about the film's story. Chen revealed that many topics, such as Mei's extramarital affair, were "taboo" to the family, but that Mei's son told Chen to "do whatever you want to do" so long as the film deals with those topics with respect.
Cast
Leon Lai as Mei Lanfang. Before Lai was tapped to play the famous opera singer, Chen Kaige reportedly also considered Taiwanese star Leehom Wang. Lai, along with Zhang Ziyi, underwent training with veteran Peking Opera singers to ready themselves for their roles.
Masanobu Andō; Japanese actor Ando joined the cast along with Gillian Chung and Chen Hong. Actor Kimura Takuya was also considered for the role as an opera-obsessed Japanese army officer, Tanaka Ryuichi, who befriends Mei Lanfang.
Gillian Chung as Fu Zhifang as a young woman; the Hong Kong actress joined the cast of the film as Mei Lanfang's wife shortly after it began principal photography, along with actors Chen Hong and Masanobu Andō, in July 2007. After she completed her scenes, Chung faced some controversy as a result of her involvement in the Edison Chen photo scandal. Rumors swirled that her scenes would be cut due to public outcry, though producers at China Film Group initially announced that they would keep her in the film and that she would participate in the film's publicity. The decision to keep Chung was reportedly met with disapproval by Mei Lanfang's family. By November 2008, the film's producers confirmed that Chung had indeed been cut from the film, thought it was unclear whether the decision was made because of the scandal, or it was made by the SARFT, or was the result of bowing to Mei Lanfang's family's wishes.
Reviews
The film made its international premiere in competition at the 59th Berlin International Film Festival, where critics called it a "sumptuous" film. The Hollywood Reporter describes the film as "traditional but elegantly mounted," and although less exotic than Farewell My Concubine, Chen "exhibits a firm grasp of subject, sympathetic characterization and a connoisseur's eye for the cultural milieu of 1930s-'40s China." The review writes the film's art direction as "superb" and states "from splendidly lit interiors to authentic costumes and accessories, evoking the theater culture and literati scene of 1930s Beijing." However, Varietyon the other hand states the film is a "largely workmanlike biopic" that is only "occasionally engaging." Variety describes the film's supporting performances are strong and more so than the leading performances, and the film "rarely achieves the artistic elevation it strives for." The review did however gave praise to the film's production design, costume and cinematography.
