''The King of Masks'' () is a

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

Chinese film The cinema of China is the filmmaking and film industry of mainland China, one of three distinct historical threads of Chinese languages, Chinese-language cinema together with the cinema of Hong Kong and the cinema of Taiwan. China is the hom ...

directed by

Wu Tianming Wu Tianming (; December 5, 1939 – March 4, 2014) was a Chinese film director and producer who was considered one of the leading "Fourth Generation" directors. Biography Wu was born in Sanyuan County, Shaanxi Province, China on December 5, ...

Synopsis

In 1930s China, Wang is The King of Masks, an aged street performer who practices the change-mask opera art of

bian lian ''Bian lian'' ( zh, s=变脸, p=biàn liǎn, t=變臉, l=face-changing, first=t) 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. The ...

. 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. He later calls her "doggie" and has her refer to him as "boss". He then begins to train her to be a flexible contortionist street performer. While looking at his masks, she accidentally sets his humble houseboat on fire. Out of guilt, she runs away. She is then captured by two men and held in a room with a boy to be sold later. Doggie helps the boy escape and takes him to Wang to have as a grandson. Wang is falsely accused of kidnapping the boy, a rich family's child, and is thrown in jail. Doggie goes to one of her friends, a famous performer in the local opera, threatening to kill herself if he or any of his guests, including a local military general, 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 was released in the United States on June 13, 1999 on a limited theatrical release and earned about one million US dollars.

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

, writing for the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...

'', gave the film 3 stars, calling it a film "of simplicity, beauty and surprising emotional power" that "benefits enormously from the beauty of the setting, the costumes and the customs".Ebert, Roger.
Review: The King of Masks
. ''RogerEbert.com''. 21 May 1999.

Awards and nominations

Huabiao Awards China Huabiao Film Awards (), also simply known as Huabiao Awards, is an annual awards ceremony for Chinese cinema. Named after the decorative Chinese winged columns (''huabiaos''), The Huabiao Awards were first instituted in 1957 as the Minist ...

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

** Outstanding Co-Production Film *

Golden Rooster Awards The Golden Rooster Awards () are film awards given in mainland China. The awards were originally given annually, beginning in 1981. The name of the award came from the year of the Rooster in 1981. Award recipients receive a statuette in the sha ...

** Best Co-Produced Film ** Best Director—Wu Tianming *

Frankfurt Children and Young People's Film Festival Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

, 1996 ** Lucas, Children's Section *

Tokyo International Film Festival The is a film festival established in 1985. The event was held biennially from 1985 to 1991 and annually thereafter. According to the FIAPF, it is one of Asia's competitive film festivals and the second largest film festival in Asia behind the ...

, 1996 ** Best Actor—

Zhu Xu Zhu Xu (; 15 April 1930 – 15 September 2018) was a Chinese actor. He was well known for his roles in Zhang Yang's ''Shower'' and Wu Tianming's ''The King of Masks'', the latter film winning him the Best Actor prize at the Tokyo International ...

** Best Director—Wu Tianming *

29th International Film Festival of India The 29th International Film Festival of India was held from 10 to 20 January 1998 in New Delhi. The competitive edition was restricted to Asian Directors. Winners * Golden Peacock (Best Film): Golden Peacock Award: "The King of Masks" by "Wu Tian ...

** Golden Peacock (Best Film) *

Canberra International Film Festival The Canberra International Film Festival (CIFF) is an annual film festival held in Canberra, Australia. It is a cinema celebration across an 11-day program in October/November each year. It is a showcase of films from Australia and around the gl ...

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

** Audience Award *

Carrousel International du Film A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (International English), or galloper (British English) is a type of amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular platform with seats for riders. The seats are traditio ...

, 1997 ** Camério for Best Actor—Zhu Xu ** Camério for Best Actress— Zhou Renying ** Camério for Best Film *

Istanbul International Film Festival The Istanbul Film Festival () is the first and oldest international film festival in Turkey, organised by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts. It is held every year in April in movie theaters in Istanbul, Turkey. As mentioned in its reg ...

, 1997 ** C.I.C.A.E. Award ** Golden Tulip *

Singapore International Film Festival The Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) (Simplified Chinese, Chinese: 新加坡国际电影节) is the longest-running film festival in Singapore, founded in 1987. The 35th Singapore International Film Festival took place from 28 Novem ...

, 1997 ** Silver Screen Award for Best Asian Director—Wu Tianming *

Fajr Film Festival Iran's annual Fajr International Film Festival (), or Fajr Film Festival (little: FIFF; ), has been held every February in Tehran since 1983. The festival is supervised by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance (Iran), Ministry of Culture ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

** Crystal Simorgh for Best Actor—Zhu Xu *

Würzburg International Filmweekend Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is, after Nuremberg and Fürth, the Franconia#Towns and cities, third-largest city in Franconia located in the north of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. It sp ...

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

** Children's Film Award *

Satellite Awards The Satellite Awards are annual awards given by the International Press Academy that are commonly noted in entertainment industry journals and blogs. The awards were originally known as the Golden Satellite Awards. The award ceremonies take place ...

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

** Best Foreign Language Motion Picture (nominated) *

16th 16 (sixteen) is the natural number following 15 and preceding 17. It is the fourth power of two. In English speech, the numbers 16 and 60 are sometimes confused, as they sound similar. Mathematics 16 is the ninth composite number, and a sq ...

Ale Kino! Festival Ale is a Type of beer, style of beer, brewed using a warm fermentation method. In England in the Middle Ages, medieval England, the term referred to a drink brewed without hops. As with most beers, ale typically has a bittering agent to balanc ...

** Grand Prix—Golden Poznań Goats for Best Movie ** Marcinek—Special Mention by Children Jury for Movie ** Best Foreign Director— Tian-Ming Wu ** Best Foreign Actor or Actress— Chu Yuk ** Best Foreign Child Actor or Actress— Chao Yim Yin ** Best Set Decoration in Foreign Movie—

Wu Xujing Wu may refer to: Places * Wu (region) (), a region roughly corresponding to the territory of Wuyue ** Wu Chinese (), a subgroup of Chinese languages now spoken in the Wu region ** Wuyue culture (), a regional Chinese culture in the Wu region *W ...

References

External links

* *
''The King of Masks''
at the Chinese Movie Database

learning package for school children at Chinese Cinema '07 * {{DEFAULTSORT:King Of Masks, The 1990s Mandarin-language films Films set in Sichuan Films set in the 1930s 1996 films Films directed by Wu Tianming Chinese drama films