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'Forever Enthralled' is being well received by critics and fans.
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Forever Enthralled is being well received by critics and fans. There is both praise and controversy for Chen Kaige, who is recovering from the box office flop of The Promise in 2005. Despite a few frowns over the latter part of the film and the correlation of its leading characters, many have acknowledged that the director did his best to bring the famous figure to life.
As the film grosses more in the box office, its corresponding book hits the shelves. The book is the second one from Chen Kaige, who wrote his own biography "The Young Kaige" twenty years ago. The current title itself marks Chen's comeback to the publishing circle.
Chen Kaige, director, said, "Everyone can write books. But for me, there's a criterion in writing a book or shooting a film. When I have a strong emotion to express, I can write two or three books a year. I don't want a book to contain only nonsense."
The book is a dialogue between a famous filmmaker and a Peking opera maestro. The pages record the initial intention, casting and the final representation of Mei Lanfang in the film. Moreover, the book's a complementary reading of many sequences not available in the final cut.
Chen said, "When I first got my hands on the archives of Mei Lanfang, I seemed to walk into the Sun. The rays made me dizzy. When I learned more of Mei, I realized that he glows in his own way, and always keep a low profile. He pursued beauty all of his life. This is not a fast-food book. Those who are feeling blue, I suggest they sit down, with a cup of tea, and read my work."
