King of Masks, The

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function popUp(URL,NAME) { amznwin=window.open(URL,NAME,'location=yes,scrollbars=yes,status=yes,toolbar=yes,resizable=yes,width=380,height=450,screenX=10,screenY=10,top=10,left=10'); amznwin.focus();} document.open(); document.write("<a href=javascript:popUp('http://buybox.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=reelmoviecriticc&link_code=xsc&creative=23424&camp=2025&path=/dt/assoc/tg/aa/xml/assoc/-/0767847377/reelmoviecriticc/ref=ac_bb1_,_amazon')><img src=http://rcm-images.amazon.com/images/G/01/associates/remote-buy-box/buy1.gif border=0 alt='Buy from Amazon.com' ></a>"); document.close(); </script> <noscript> <form method="POST" action="http://buybox.amazon.com/o/dt/assoc/handle-buy-box=0767847377"> <input type="hidden" name="asin.0767847377" value="1"> <input type="hidden" name="tag-value" value="reelmoviecriticc"> <input type="hidden" name="tag_value" value="reelmoviecriticc"> <input type="image" name="submit.add-to-cart" value="Buy from Amazon.com" border="0" alt="Buy from Amazon.com" src="http://rcm-images.amazon.com/images/G/01/associates/add-to-cart.gif"> </form> </noscript>  </B></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="579" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 20 WIDTH="575"><div> <B>The King Of Masks</B> ***1/2 (Not Rated)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><div> Reviewed By George O. Singleton</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="549" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 23 ><NOBR><div> The same potion brews differently in different hands</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="580" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="269"><div> Wang: Zhu Xu</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="304"><div> Doggie: Zhou Ren-ying</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> Liang Sao Lang: Zhao Zhigang</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="304"><div> Tianci: uncredited</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="269"><div> Director: Wu Tianming</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="304"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="304" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <B>30 Second Bottom Line</B>: In 1930's China custom dictates that a magician's skills can only be passed on to a son for future generations…never to a daughter. An aging street magician "adopts" a child whom he thinks is a boy, but in reality is a girl. This film begins as a "crotchety old man meets streetwise child" story and develops into the passion of pride, politics, and willingness to change.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Story Line:</B> Wang (Zhu Xu) lives on a riverboat and makes his living by performing magic tricks with his silk masks in the streets of China in the mid 1930's. His trained monkey collects coins from the onlookers. Almost 30 years ago, his wife left him to raise his infant son. That son died when he was 10 years old and Wang has found it difficult to smile when he is not performing.</div> <bR> <div> During this time of homelessness and floods, parents are so desperate to support themselves and their children, that they sometimes sell young ones for small amounts of money. Boys are valued because they can carry on a name through marriage and skilled trades, while girls are deemed almost worthless. </div> <bR> <div> Feeling desperate to have a male heir, Wang goes to a baby market and buys Doggie (Zhou Ren-ying), an eight-year-old girl who is represented as a boy. Wang plans to teach Doggie the art of creating the beautiful hand painted silk masks, and the sleight of hand required to reveal up to twelve different masks in quick succession, as the audience expresses their approval. When Wang learns the true sex of Doggie, he is so angry that he wants to throw her out. He instead keeps her, not as a child but as a servant. </div> <bR> <div> Doggie's curiosity with the masks gets the better of her one evening while Wang is away. Tragedy is the result and Doggie leaves, becoming homeless and stealing food to survive.  She is captured by child marketers and uses her creativity and spunk to escape, along with the kidnapped young boy of a wealthy family, Tianci. They return to Wang's boat and the boy is left there by Doggie as the replacement son he has wanted for the past 20 years.</div> <bR> <div> What Doggie and Wang don't know is that a manhunt is underway to find the young child. Later, when Wang is in jail for the kidnapping of Tianci, Doggie appeals to Liang (Zhao Zhigang), a famous actor who performs female roles in the opera. Liang, a friend of Wang's, is admired by many Generals in the military, and he has high level political access. In the end it is Doggie's ingenuity, along with Liang's appeals, that set Wang's fortunes right. </div> <bR> <div> <B>Tell Me More About It</B>: <I>The King of Masks</I> is a film for both children and adults. Any child old enough to read will enjoy the film. It's earthy and arty at the same time, in some ways similar to <I><B>All About My Mother,</B></I><I><B> </B></I>where the linkage of life on stage and in the real world converge.</div> <bR> <div> Director Wu Tianming has had the pleasure of his film winning numerous awards in over 20 film festivals. While it only played for one week in China, it has received wide exposure in North American theaters. Tianming points out that while economic development has been seen in China, people relationships are much weaker. </div> <bR> <div> Actor Zhu Xu lived with the monkey called General in the film, for almost three months, so they could develop rapport. The timing of some of the things the monkey does is right on and he is a very effective character. Zhu Xu is known as a do it all and anything actor in China, like Mel Gibson is in the US.</div> <bR> <div> Zhou Ren-ying, as Doggie, brought tears to my eyes the second time I saw this film. She is so effective in communicating her feelings that it's wonderful to see. I later learned that she is indeed an orphan and her true parents are the adults that lead an acrobatic troupe she's a member of.    </div> <bR> <div> Recent movies such as <A HREF="id340.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Butterfly"><U><I><B>Butterfly</B></I></U></A><A HREF="id340.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Butterfly"><U> </U></A>and <I>Central Station</I> do an excellent job of using the relationship of young children with adults of grandparents age to focus on many things ahead for the yet to be young adult. While the senior citizen teaches the child, they too still have lessons to learn. </div> <bR> <div> As a grandparent myself, who has the good fortune to spend time with three grandchildren, ages 4, 8 and 12, a film such as <I>The King of Masks</I> reminds me to enjoy each moment of my existence.  Time is the one thing money can't buy.</div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="591" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> Not Rated (language; dangerous situations; subtle homosexuality)</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="587"><div> In Mandarin with English Subtitles</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="587"><div> George O. Singleton © 2000</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="587"><div> <A HREF="mailto:Reelmoviec@aol.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:Reelmoviec@aol.com"><U><U>George@reelmoviecritic.com</U></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>