Set in 1913, Peking Opera Blues centers around three women, each with different motivations in their struggle to keep the newly founded Republic of China safe from corrupt officals and foreigners bent on gaining as much power in the new government as possible. Brigitte Lin plays Tsao Wan, the daughter of a newly instated general who, much to her dismay, has signed an agreement with a group of foreigners. Being a dedicated revolutionary, she is forced to betray her father and steal the document. Sally Yeh plays a daughter of the head of a local opera company who's dream it is to act in the plays, but because she is a woman, is forbidden to do so. Last in the trio is Cherie Cheung who plays Sheung Hung, a servent of the former general who is desperatley trying to find a box of jewels that could set her up for life. Through a series of twists and turns, the three become an inseperable team whose ultimate goal is to expose the foreign treaty and save their Republic from falling into enemy hands.

Peking Opera Blues is a very complicated movie, but entertaining none-the-less. A bevy of characters will have you pausing trying to figure out where they came from and how they fit in, but by the end, everything seems to fall in place. The movie is very bright and well filmed (as is to be expected from Tsui Hark), and both the comedic and martial arts sequences are very quick and smooth. Elaborate sets add to the action, especially the final scene where chases, gunfights and martial arts battles take place along snowy rooftops. Although the movie is somewhat confusing, the strong acting, very funny comedic scenes and excellent (although few and far between) fight sequences make it a solid film.
7/10