Peking Opera Blues (Tsui Hark, 1986) is set in China in a different time period, approximately 1913, at a time when there was agitation for change and efforts at overthrowing the government. The film is a comic adventure rather than a serious analysis of these subjects, but it does indicate some of the forces then operating in that part of the world at the time and fits into a sense of the history of China in this century. As a genre piece, the film is a Hong Kong action picture, the sort of martial arts film that emerge by the dozen from that city each year. This one differs from most in that it has three female protagonists rather than the usual male, though this has become more common in recent yeas as a number of females have come to the fore in this type of film, notable among them being Michele Yeoh, who is now working in other parts of the world.
This story takes place in China in 1913. The three women are from different social classes, one from the privileged upper class, one from the working class, one from the country. These three young women are working as part of a revolutionary plot to overthrow the military government, yet one of them is the daughter of the most powerful general in the government. She also dresses as a male most of the time, perhaps reflecting her father's desire for a boy, and also a useful device for spying and espionage. There are also two males who join these three in their effort, one a soldier who is no longer happy with the military way of life.
Issues of social class are extremely important in the society depicted in the film, which is why it is important that the three young women and their two male accomplices represent a cross-section of society because they come from different classes. The film takes place after the first democratic revolution in china, a revolution essentially thwarted by the military rule that takes the lead. Tao Wan opposes her military warlord father in hi...