Rating: 
Summary: Witty and charming but watch out for the sting!
Review: 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...
Rating:
Summary: Captured my heart from the very beginning. I loved it!
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: wonderful film set in historic China
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderfully Played
Review: Casting is sometimes everything, and in this sentimental tale it is the actors playing the Old Master and the little girl that make it all worthwhile. Exquisitely filmed with the period (1930's China)details just right, the story of an old Master of the Mask-changing art wanting to find a boy apprentice to pass the secrets of his craft on to, who is fooled into paying for a little girl disguised as a boy, and the problems that ensue in that relationship when her true gender is discovered, is bitter/sweet and in the end heart-warming. As I said the actors playing the Old Master and the young girl are simply marvelous. Wonderful faces, wonderful performances. Also to be noted is the actor playing the female impersonator Opera star. It is these performances that make the film work even when it begins to stretch the sentimentality and credibility a bit at the end. By then you shouldn't mind because you should be caught up in their drama and care for these characters. A simple, nicely told tale, that also demonstrates the harshness of the social contract in the 30's in China and everywhere. You were on your own. And that harshness still exists in many places in the world. Another reviewer has explained some of the reasons for the Old Master's (and the culture's) insistence on passing on the craft to a male heir. But, that aside, it was a hard world for little girls without family. And it is a reminder in these times of how harsh a culture can be that does not value women. That one can learn that value is best placed where the heart is, is not a bad lesson to remember anytime. Beats the hell out of 90% of the drivel coming out of Hollywood. 4 1/2 stars.
Rating: 
Summary: Great movie, DVD sound quality poor
Review: Several years ago, I saw this movie in a theater and loved it. So, I bought the DVD as a Christmas gift. The picture was great but the sound quality was not the best.
Rating:
Summary: Touching, charming sleeper
Review: 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?)
Rating:
Summary: Excellent movie - highly recommend
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: a Good Heidi Movie, done Chinese-style
Review: This is a new Heidi movie with some nice changes.
This would be good paired with "Heidi", "Whale Rider" or "About a Boy". Basically, it's about an old man searching for an heir to pass on his Chinese-mask traditions. He's looking, goes to the blackmarket where it's filled with desperate mothers trying desperately to sell their children---mostly daughters. It's not that they want to make big money off the children, it's to keep them from being abandoned and starving to death. So if you want a hell on earth, it's here. Anyway, he steps right over them without a glance at the weeping, begging, heartbreaking desperation. Finally he gets a boy! All is right in his world. The son is treated like a king. Then after an accident...the son is revealed for something else. Poof, he casts the weeping little child out to starve in the streets, heartbroken and devastated.
Through much adventure, and the child's bravery, the old man learns to reevaluate his values and priorities. (Frankly, I don't know if I could trust that old man again after him turning on me that way--but this is a child.)
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: Even though I saw this movie years ago it still comes up in conversation and will forever be one of my favorite movies. I'm glad to finally have it on DVD and gave my sister a copy for her birthday. Although my brother-in-law was originally not interested in seeing this movie,even he was pulled into this wonderful story and really enjoyed it.
Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Movie......
Review: Probably one of the best movies I have ever seen -- always makes me cry at the end. Thank goodness it didn't end tragically like so many Chinese movies seem to.
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