This film, one of the undisputed masterpieces of Chinese cinema, tells the story of two lives compressed into an epic period of time from the turn of the century to the Cultural Revolution. Duan Xiaolou and Cheng Dieyi, who spent their childhood in the cruel world of Peking Opera, turned into two indispensable names on the stage after a difficult training that shaped their bodies and voices. Xiaolou, with her large build, plays the warlords, and the slender Dieyi plays the female roles; Over time, stage partnerships turn into a bond that is difficult to separate from each other. Chen Kaige constructs this bond not only as a personal drama but as a reflection of China's internal contradictions. Based on love, identity and loyalty, the film shows with shocking honesty how the individual is crushed and transformed under the waves of great history. The social fractures created by the Cultural Revolution coincide so skillfully with the fractures in the inner world of the characters that the boundaries of history and tragedy blend together. Leslie Cheung's portrayal of Dieyi has taken its place as one of the most enduring performances in cinema history. This performance, which dissolves the boundaries between real life, femininity and masculinity, love and betrayal with stage costumes, takes the film far beyond an ordinary period drama. The work, which won the Palme d'Or at Cannes, does not just present a story to the audience; It feels like you are slowly drowning in great grief.