The King Of Masks (1996)

This is a classic and in my top ten of all time movies. It is so tender and touching. The love of the little girl for the street magician who adopts her is beyond the love most people know in a lifetime. It reminds me of an unwanted, stray dog who attaches to the first human who feeds it and becomes unconditionally loyal.
The acting of the child is superb. Part of the story line was revealed in the summary, but is revealed quickly in the movie. The rejection of the child when the identity is discovered leads to heart wrenching moments. You become totally immersed in the Chinese culture and how male traditions influence the lives of the people. But don't despair, this is one of those "feel good" movies that you will want to watch over and over again. I have and will again.

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A key memory that I have for this film is sitting at a friend's house with his younger brother browsing through my starred ratings on Netflix, and telling them I've never given a 5.0 on anything before, until this title showed up. They are Korean and have not had too much exposure to Chinese films. The younger brother really didn't want to watch this one because the picture quality just wasn't good enough for him and he had zero interest in slower-paced dramas. We forced him to sit through it anyway.

Let's just say after the film was over, he turned to us with tears in his eyes and exclaimed how it was unexpectedly awesome.

I loved King of Masks in so many ways. So much of it was done with attention paid to factual elements of its era and every scene provided subtle meaning. If you pay attention close enough, you'll find many hints of humor as well that would be missed otherwise. I won't mention too much of its plot because it really will be a spoiler (although the synopsis provided some already).

The actors did an amazing job in their roles but the child actor was definitely the star. The very realistic and complex development of the bonds between our leads will tug hard at your heartstrings. And if you turn your nose up at older films with poorer picture quality, maybe get someone to force you to watch it as well and you may just become a fan like my friend's younger brother.

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