The King of Masks DVD
China Movie
Drama 101 Minutes Multi-Lingual
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The King of Masks (1996) 變臉王 導演：吳天明 Director: Wu Tian Ming Starring: Chao Yim Yin, Chu Yuk, Zhang Zhi Gang 內容： The King of Masks tells a tale steeped in ancient tradition, simultaneously challenging the sociosexual inequity still plaguing China today. On the streets of Szechuan Province in the 1930s, the aged King of Masks, sole living master of "change-face" opera, delights and frightens audiences with the secret art of lightning-quick mask-shifting. His fondest wish is to pass on his skill to a male heir before he dies. Famous female impersonator Liang Sao Lang craves knowledge of the king's secret technique, offering to relieve the old man's poverty by taking him into his opera troupe. The king declines: what sort of heir would this half-female creature make? Instead, he buys an orphan on the black market, joyously showing him off as his grandson and heir. But soon the child is forced to disclose a dreaded secret--one that effectively renders him a person of no value according to Chinese custom. In the king's eyes, the kid goes from "beloved grandson" to "stupid crook," and both the old man and the child must pay dearly for his bigotry before they can know joy again. A deeply moving film, simply told and superbly acted. A great movie! Highly recommended! DVD: List Price: US$16.95
Rating: I - Suitable for all audiences (roughly equal to an MPPA rating of "G" or "PG") Films rated Category I contain nothing most parents will consider offensive for their children to see or hear. Nudity, drug use, explicit language, violence and adult situations are largely absent, and if present are seen only briefly and at a moderate level. |
