Customer Reviews

The King of Masks [VHS]

5 star:		(62)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a wonderfully intelligent and heart-warming work. I thoroughly thoroughly recommend it. Set in a beautifully-evoked Sichuan province (watch for guest appearances by the Giant Buddha of Emei Shan) in China during the 1930s, Wu Tianming’s beautifully delineated movie tells the story of Wang Bianlian, played by the veteran Xu Zhu, an aging street performer who buys a young boy, Gou-er (translated as “Doggie” in the subtitles). Gou-er (luminously portrayed by an absolutely fabulous Zhou Renying) is to be Old Wang's heir as the old man seeks to pass on his family secrets as a master of “changing face” theater.

This situation needs a little explaining for modern western audiences. Many times in Chinese history there were awful famines or economic depressions where families faced starvation and destitution. This was particularly true in the late Republican period when civil war added yet another level of problems for ordinary Chinese people. In these circumstances, desperate families sometimes resorted to selling some or all of their children to wealthy families. Often these children would be brought up as virtual slaves, especially if they were girls.

Gou-er is a pet name. Chinese children were often given these names instead of real ones until they were old enough to be fairly assured of living to be adults. This practice stemmed from the folk belief that the lurking demons that populated the Chinese landscape (particularly in natural areas such as rivers, woods and mountains) would be fooled into thinking that the child was worthless if their family referred to them as “Stinky” or “Idiot” –or “Little Dog”, and so would not attempt to steal the child or kill it.

Old Wang needs a boy because according to Confucian tradition, he cannot pass the knowledge on to a girl since daughters or grand daughters were not considered to be permanent members of one’s family in traditional Chinese society. Women were brought up to be married out to other families. The men were the ones who stayed within the family and maintained the family resources. Usually this meant land for peasants, but for the rich it meant wealth and for performers like Old Wang, it meant the secrets of the trade. For this reason, I must take issue with Laura Mirsky's editorial review which infers that the famous cross-dressing opera star Luo Sulan (ably played by Zhang Zhigang) was unsuitable as an heir because he portrayed women on stage.

While it is true that Chinese society is conventionally very homophobic, and Luo Sulan is certainly portrayed as a rather effeminate young man, the larger obstacle (and this is important since it is another example of Confucian tradition at work) was that Luo was not a member of Old Wang’s family. “Changing face” was a family tradition and could not be handed on to anyone who was an outsider. Luo’s status as a man who plays women on stage would not have been an issue in and of itself since this was the norm in Chinese opera of the time. As in Shakespearean England, women were not allowed to perform as actors so all the female roles were played by men (see also the wonderful Chen Kaige movie “Farewell My Concubine”).

This movie deals with issues of family, loyalty, love and tradition. It is an overt critique of traditional Chinese society but is also a pointed (though gentle) indictment of the resurgence of some of these Confucian values in modern China following the economic boom of the eighties and nineties...

I've seen the King of Masks several times both in the Theatre and on DVD. After seeing it in the theatre, I called up several friends and talked them into watching it with me a 2nd time. Everyone thought it was a great movie.

Of the many excellent foreign DVDs in my collection, it is the one I'm most likely to loan out to friends who may not be too into foreign films or subtitles -- everyone has like it so far. If you've watched it, you also know that this is a great film to encourage friends to *start* watching more independent / foreign films.

The general storyline is well described in the other posted reviews. The King of Masks combines an excellent storyline with excellent characters, scenes, and cinematography. In my opinion this movie is suitable for all ages.

Subtitles are clear and easy to read.

There are many genuinely touching scenes in the film that will tug at your emotions. All of the lead acting is excellent.

If I had to (this would be hard) recommend only one "foreign" film to someone out of all the films I've seen so far from various countries, this would probably be it.

A person comes away from this film experiencing all of the good things a foreign film can present: dialect, characters, scenes, culture, unique plot. A lot of excellent movies only hit on 3 or 4 of these; this one hits on all cylinders.

This is one not only for your library, but to loan your friends, including the ones that usually only watch Hollywood box office hits.

"The King of Masks" is one of the best films I've seen in years, and I've seen quite a few. I love the fact that the Chinese have discovered what American filmmakers seem to have forgotten: that a good story, well acted and superbly shot, beats the heck out of high-tech special effects any day! This film is magical in its ability to transport you back to 1930's China and make you feel every little joy, every heartache, and the redemption of the human spirit in exquisite detail -- and it does it without blowing anyone or anything up! The actors deliver impassioned performances of a masterful script -- the director keeps the visuals captivating, and in the end, we are better people for having seen and loved this film. My only complaint -- why the Pan and Scan format! Please, please tell me we'll eventually be treated to the widescreen version of this modern masterpiece!

What is it about us that makes us human? Please have this question in mind when you watch this film. This is a classic. It is literature on film. It has all of the dynamics of humanness that all of us live, understand or wish wasn't true. I had so many emotions flow through me while watching this film. It is so compelling. What I find even more interesting are the comments from viewers. They seem to feel the dynamics of this story, of the cultural dimensions and turnings, are wholly Chinese. It's as if they are asleep. It's as if they cannot recognize themselves in the film, if not exactly, certainly the possibilities are real. Therefore, this is why I recommend this film to parents and their children. It is a family film. But the lesson will be totally lost if American parents watch this film with their children and tell them, "See. This is how things were (or are) in China and some other places in the Third World." As if they don't happen and can't happen right here in America. This film is a chance to teach our children what all of the discipline and study and engagement in the better self is all about but it is also a wonderful opportunity for some parents to teach supremacy of the American Dream. And I can't emphasis "Dream" enough. Thank you for your attention.

I saw this film first in the theaters. I didn't quite know what to expect but have enjoyed the current surge of moving Asian films. The performances of the male lead and especially the young girl will move you to tears. It's one film everyone should see.

I recently purchased the DVD knowing full well about the negatives. The audio on the DVD is terrible (as bad as mono in my opinion). And yes, the film is cropped. Why Columbia would wreck such a great work by producing a shabby DVD version is beyond my comprehension. They could have released a widescreen version as well but they didn't. Columbia needs to get their act together and redo the DVD. Anyway, I'd give the DVD a 1/2 star but I can't fault the movie one bit which easily deserves 5 stars.

This is a wonderful film, set in 1930s Sichuan, about an old man who is the last living practitioner of face-mask changing. He laments that he has no male heir on whom to pass down his art, and decides to visit a blackmarket where children are sold. There he finds a wonderful young boy who is thoughtful, enthusiastic and intelligent. Life seems wonderful and the old man proudly introduces his new grandson to the people he meets, but things don't go as planned and he rejects the child. The consequences of his bigotry reverberate until a dramatic action forces him to rethink his traditional views.

DVD treatment is below average. The movie can be heard in Chinese and subtitled in English, French or Spanish. The only extra is a trailer for the film.

Fascinating even within its simple context, this film is an almost perfect example of storytelling. An aged street performer in 1930s Sichuan realizes he has no heir to pass on his ancient tradition (and secrets)... so he purchases a son on the black market, only to find more than he bargained for. An extremely moving film - fascinating for its depiction of so many aspects of China unknown by Western audiences: mask-shifting performance, opera, the importance of gender, abject poverty and famine in the early 20th century, and Confucian values. All that aside, it's a sad, funny, and winning little masterpiece. (One complaint about the DVD - why no widescreen version?)

The King of Masks is a heartwarming fable set in depression era Sichuan province that makes some sharp points about China's current policies and cultural practices.

The King of masks is Wang Bianlian (Xu Shu), a master practitioner of "changing face" theatre, part performance art and part magic show. His sleight-of-hand street theater dazzles Liang (Zhang Zhigang), a famous opera performer renowned for playing female leads. (At the time, all the male and female roles in opera companies were played by men.) Liang offers to bring Wang Bianlian into his opera troupe, and pay him handsomely as long as he agrees to teach Liang his mask tricks. Although he's barely scraping by, Wang Bianlian refuses, partly because he believes such a move will betray the purity of his art, and because he can only pass on his craft to a male member of his own family.

His only son has died, and Wang Bianlian's one big desire is to find another male heir. It has to be a male by the rules of his guild and by the practices of Confucian society, which viewed females as attached to the family they married into, not the family they were born into. He feels his prayers have been answered when he buys a young boy being sold by a poor peasant, something that apparently happened with sad regularity during hard economic times. The King is smitten with his adopted son (Zhou Renying, who will melt your heart) and is looking forward to teaching him the tricks of his trade until the day he finds out, to his shock and dismay, that "Doggie" as his son is affectionately called, is lacking "a little teaspout."

Doggie goes from being the beloved heir to a poorly treated servant girl. She's no longer allowed to call the King "Grandfather," only "boss." Doggie works hard in her fallen state to earn the King's respect. When she brings a young boy she has rescured back to their sampan to be the King's new son and heir, the King is delighted, until he's arrested for kidnapping. Languishing in his cell, facing what looks like certain execution, Wang Bianlian sees that he's wanted the wrong thing, and wanted it too much. He only hopes he gets the chance to make amends to Doggie in this lifetime.

Director Wu Tianming, without preaching, is taking direct aim at modern China's one child per family policy and the cultural preference for boy children over girls. Rural families, desperate like Wang Bianlian for a male heir, have murdered their infant daughters or abandoned them in public places, leaving them to be raised in orphanages or worse. (The demographic consequences of this practice will soon be felt: a large cadre of sexually frustrated little emperors competing for too few mates.) Any society that devalues a large part of its population, the way America did with its African American citizens or the way France does with its Muslim citizens, cannot be considered an enlightened society. The King of Masks, besides being a well-made, heartwarming movie, is a plea for China to see the worth in all its citizens, no matter what mask Confucian or Communist or Capitalist society forces them to wear.

This 1996 Chinese film captured my heart from the very beginning. It's set in China in the 1930s, when street performing and Chinese opera were still considered an art. An old man performs with masks, an ancient Chinese art of which he is very proud. By family tradition, he must pass on his art to a male heir and, since his only son had died many years before, he needs to adopt a young boy. And so he goes to a "baby market" where parents and slave traders sell children. When an 8-year old calls out "grandpa", he purchases the child. It is only a few days later that he discovers that he has adopted a girl, not a boy. She begs him not to cast her away, and so he trains her to be a street performer, but does not teach her the art of masks because she is only a girl.

The plot gets more complex and held me captive with emotion as I was swept into the story and completely identified with the characters and all their problems, especially after the old man and the girl attend a Chinese opera, where female impersonators are stars. There, the ancient story of a woman sacrificing herself for her father is played out in highly dramatic costumed theatrics.

I loved this film - not only for the wonderful story and great acting, but it brought me right into the heart of China and let me immerse myself in another time and place. Yes, there is a happy ending, but not until there were more twists and turns of the plot and I never knew how it would all turn out. Acting was outstanding and I must applaud the actors, Yu Zhu as the old man, Zhigang Zhang as the female impersonator and - mostly, Renying Zhou as the little girl. Rarely have I seen such a fine performance by an 8-year old. Therefore, this film gets one of my highest recommendations. And even though there are some sad and scary parts, I recommend it for everyone.

I came across this on television, flicking across the channels one night and ended up glued to it. While a simple tale, King of Masks eloquently describes the nature of friendship and family. The movie is beautifully shot, using an almost zen-like simplicity, creating an enchanting atmosphere of a riverside Chinese town. Performances by all characters are excellent and completely involving. I haven't seen the DVD but, seeing as it's anamorphic, the quality should be good. Hopefully other Chinese movies like those of Zhang Yi Mo and Chen Kaige, will also be released with anamorphic quality and we can enjoy these incredibly beautiful films in all their glory.