His most famous film in the West , '' Farewell My Concubine '' ( 1993 ) , nominated for two Academy Awards and winner of the Palme d'Or at 1993 Cannes Film Festival , follows two Beijing opera stars through decades of change in China during the twentieth century . Chen followed up the unprecedented success of '' Farewell My Concubine '' with '' Temptress Moon '' ( 1996 ) , another period drama starring Leslie Cheung and Gong Li . Though it was well received by most critics , it did not achieve the accolades that '' Concubine '' did , and many were put off by the film 's convoluted plot line . Almost as famous is his '' The Emperor and the Assassin '' ( 1999 ) , an epic involving the legendary King of Qin and the reluctant assassin who aims to kill him
1993 Cannes Film Festival
1993 Cannes Film Festival
Chen Kaige