Chen Kaige and Peking Opera master Mei Lanfang share a common motto. "There is no shame in losing, but there is in living in fear."

Turning his cameras back on his pet-passion of Peking Opera was an ambitious and deliberate move by Chen, after his last feature, The Promise (Wu Ji), suffered ruthless criticism on the mainland.

An online parody of his 2005 big-budget fantasy film, which was slammed for its weak storyline and clichs, became even more popular than the original film itself.

But making a movie about Peking Opera was a risky business, considering his 1993 masterpiece Farewell My Concubine (Bawang Bieji), which also focused on the subject, won the Palme d'Or at Cannes, a BAFTA award and garnered two Oscar nominations.

Zhang Ziyi (left) and Leon Lai in the highly anticipated Forever Enthralled directed by Chen Kaige (below).

This was always a hard act to follow but Chen is clearly inspired by the protagonist of his new work.

"Let us think of Mei," Chen says. "I often wonder how he dared to perform in America in 1930, a time of depression.

"Nobody in America knew about Peking Opera then, and many of his friends opposed his risky trip. But he made it and his debut won 15 curtain calls. So I should think more about the film itself instead of fearing the evaluations."

Chen actually met Mei when he was a boy because his father was the opera star's friend. Chen remembers graceful "uncle Mei" as a silent man, who would sit upright on a sofa and meditate, and practice swordplay in all-white silk outfit in a quiet courtyard.

Chen was too young to talk with Mei, but remembers his essence, which he has tried to reveal in his new feature Forever Enthralled, released 47 years after Mei's death.