The King of Masks
Encyclopedia
The King of Masks is a 1996
Chinese film
directed by Wu Tianming
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. He laments that he has no male heirs to carry on his mysterious and complicated art and trade. At an illegal child market, Wang buys what he believes to be an orphan boy to become his adopted grandson and apprentice.
However, Wang soon learns his new disciple is in fact a girl. As tradition dictates that he cannot pass his art onto a girl, he tries to abandon her, but she stubbornly stays with him. While looking at his masks, she accidentally sets his humble residence on fire. Out of guilt, she runs away.
When Wang is falsely accused of kidnapping a rich family's child, he is thrown in jail. His former disciple goes to one of his friends, a famous performer in the local opera, threatening to kill herself if he or any of his guests, including a local military leader, are unable to help Wang. The King of Masks is eventually freed, and he finally accepts the girl as his granddaughter and teaches her his art.
1996 in film
Major releases this year included Scream, Independence Day, Fargo, Trainspotting, The English Patient, Twister, Mars Attacks!, Jerry Maguire and a version of Evita starring Madonna.-Events:...
Chinese film
Cinema of China
The Chinese-language cinema has three distinct historical threads: Cinema of Hong Kong, Cinema of China, and Cinema of Taiwan. Since 1949 the cinema of mainland China has operated under restrictions imposed by the Communist Party of China's State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television and...
directed by Wu Tianming
Wu Tianming
Wu Tianming is a Chinese film director.-Biography:Born in Shaanxi Province, China, Wu Tianming attended the Beijing Film Academy, majoring in directing before the Cultural Revolution...
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Synopsis
Wang is The King of Masks, an aged street performer who practices the change-mask opera art of bian lianBian Lian
Bian Lian is an ancient Chinese dramatic art that is part of the more general Sichuan opera. Performers wear brightly colored costumes and move to quick, dramatic music. They also wear vividly colored masks, which they change within a fraction of a second....
. He laments that he has no male heirs to carry on his mysterious and complicated art and trade. At an illegal child market, Wang buys what he believes to be an orphan boy to become his adopted grandson and apprentice.
However, Wang soon learns his new disciple is in fact a girl. As tradition dictates that he cannot pass his art onto a girl, he tries to abandon her, but she stubbornly stays with him. While looking at his masks, she accidentally sets his humble residence on fire. Out of guilt, she runs away.
When Wang is falsely accused of kidnapping a rich family's child, he is thrown in jail. His former disciple goes to one of his friends, a famous performer in the local opera, threatening to kill herself if he or any of his guests, including a local military leader, are unable to help Wang. The King of Masks is eventually freed, and he finally accepts the girl as his granddaughter and teaches her his art.
Reception
The film won a number of awards at various film festivals around the world. It had a limited American theatrical release in 1999 and earned about $1,000,000.Awards and nominations
- Huabiao AwardsHuabiao AwardsChina Huabiao Film Awards ,also known as Huabiao Awards, is an annual awards ceremony for Chinese cinema. Named after the decorative Chinese winged columns , The Huabiao Awards were first instituted in 1957 as the Ministry of Culture Excellence Film awards. Between 1958 and 1979, no awards were given...
, 19951995 in film-Top grossing films:-Events:* March 22 - The Dogme 95 movement is officially announced in Paris by Danish directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg.* March 28 - Actress Julia Roberts and singer Lyle Lovett announce their plans for separation....
- Outstanding Co-Production Film
- Golden Rooster AwardsGolden Rooster AwardsChina Golden Rooster Film Festival also known as Golden Rooster Awards are the most prestigious awards in film given in mainland China, equivalent the China's Academy Awards. The awards are given annually, beginning in 1981. The name of the award came from the year of the Rooster in 1981...
, 19961996 in filmMajor releases this year included Scream, Independence Day, Fargo, Trainspotting, The English Patient, Twister, Mars Attacks!, Jerry Maguire and a version of Evita starring Madonna.-Events:...
- Best Co-Produced Film
- Best Director — Wu Tianming
- Frankfurt Children and Young People's Film Festival, 1996
- Lucas, Children's Section
- Tokyo International Film FestivalTokyo International Film FestivalTokyo International Film Festival is a film festival established in 1985. The event was held biannually from 1985 to 1991 and annually thereafter...
, 1996- Best Actor — Zhu XuZhu XuZhu Xu is a Chinese actor. He is well known for his roles in Zhang Yang's Shower and Wu Tianming's The King of Masks, the latter film helping him garner a Best Actor prize at the Tokyo International Film Festival.-Filmography:...
- Best Director — Wu Tianming
- Best Actor — Zhu Xu
- Canberra International Film FestivalCanberra International Film FestivalThe Canberra International Film Festival began in 1996. All the films shown have been Canberra premieres, and many of them have also been Australian premieres.- History :...
, 19971997 in film-Events:* The original Star Wars trilogy's Special Editions are released.* Production begins on Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.* Titanic becomes the first film to gross US$1,000,000,000 at the box office making it the highest grossing film in history until Avatar broke the record in 2010.*...
- Audience Award
- Carrousel International du Film, 1997
- Camério for Best Actor — Zhu Xu
- Camério for Best Actress — Zhou Renying
- Camério for Best Film
- Istanbul International Film FestivalIstanbul International Film FestivalThe Istanbul International Film Festival is the first and oldest international film festival in Turkey, organised by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts , a non-profit organisation. It is held every year in April in movie theaters in Istanbul, Turkey...
, 1997- C.I.C.A.E. Award
- Golden Tulip
- Singapore International Film FestivalSingapore International Film FestivalThe Singapore International Film Festival was launched in 1987. The festival is an annual film event, held around April/May each year, and screens about 300 films from over 45 countries...
, 1997- Silver Screen Award for Best Asian Director — Wu Tianming
- Fajr Film Festival, 19981998 in film-Events:* February 14 - Sharon Stone marries Phil Bronstein.* Former child star Gary Coleman is charged with assaulting a young female bus driver at a California shopping mall.-Top grossing films:...
- Crystal Simorgh for Best Actor — Zhu Xu
- Würzburg International Filmweekend, 19991999 in filmThe year 1999 in film involved several noteworthy events and has been called "The Year That Changed Movies". Several significant feature films, including Stanley Kubrick's final film Eyes Wide Shut, Pedro Almodóvar's first Oscar-winning film All About My Mother, science fiction The Matrix, Deep...
- Children's Film Award
- Satellite AwardsSatellite AwardsThe Satellite Awards are an annual award given by the International Press Academy. The awards were originally known as the Golden Satellite Awards.- Film :*Best Actor – Drama*Best Actor – Musical or Comedy*Best Actress – Drama...
, 20002000 in filmThe year 2000 in film involved some significant events.The top grosser worldwide was Mission: Impossible II. Domestically in North America, Gladiator won the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Actor ....
- Best Foreign Language Motion Picture (nominated)
External links
- The King of Masks at the Chinese Movie Database
- Bianlian learning package for school children at Chinese Cinema '07