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| Directed by Wu Tianming; Starring Zhu Xu, Zhou Ren-ying, Zhang Riuyang, and Zhao Zhigang |
Many could note that I can be a push-over for foreign language films. I do not believe it to be because I just like sitting through subtitled films, but because they are generally better. It is quite a arduous task for a foreign film to get to the US and then to places as small as where I’m situated. Most of your poor foreign films are left in their countries and never see an American release since distributors are not in the business to see a film they import do poorly because of lackluster reviews. But that does not keep out all the bad foreign films. While your lavish dramas like Ridicule and Babette’s Feast serve a large number of the imports, the majority seem to be tales of childhood. Some are exquisite masterpieces like Au Revoir Les Enfants and Ma Vie en Rose, others are terrible atrocities like Leolo and Kolya. My expectations are always high for a foreign film, but if it has a major child character, I’m usual going in with some reservations. That is the case with The King of Masks (Bian Lian). At first glance it looks like yet another story of a craggy old person brought to understanding by a child he/she is left with like Kolya and Central Station, but thanks to a little twist and a much harsher treatment of the child as well as the older person, The King of Masks is far from the sappy film that the others were (at least until the end).
The King of Masks is about a man in China that is known as the “King of Masks” because he has mastered an art of changing masked faces in a split second. Living as a peasant, he has little in life, but the lack that causes him the most trouble is that he has no son to give this art to and let the family ability live on. After having a talk with a local performer, the King (Xu) decides that he must buy a son. After casually perusing through a galley where girls plead for him to adopt him, he sets eyes on a young boy named Doggie (Ren-ying) that is the clearest image of the perfect grandson. After buying the child from an abusive father, the King sets out to teach the child all his secrets. But all falls apart when in a moment of panic, Doggie admits that he is really a she. This so upsets the King that he refuses to have anything to do with the child, but slowly he is won over and allows Doggie to serve as an agile performer in his routine. After Doggie causes many problems for the King, she sets out to find him a real grandson.
The film is a beautiful work that transcends the ideals of high drama without getting too melodramatic. The performance from Xu is astounding, though I was a little off-set at Ren-ying’s, who actually left me detesting Doggie and all the suffering that she brings to the King. Tianming’s direction is at times mesmerizing, at other times formulaic. I did enjoy the film, but only halfheartedly. The fact that many characters were less than interesting does not help, but the main problem is in its conclusion. The end is so cloying and annoying that the film almost falls apart over it. Though a very good looking film and an interesting piece, The King of Masks is a bit of a disappointment.
