King of the Children
King of the Children (Chinese: 孩子王; pinyin: Háizǐ Wáng) is a 1987 drama film directed by Chen Kaige and starring Chen Shaohua.[1] The film was based on a novella of the same name by Ah Cheng. The film competed for the Palme D'Or at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival.[2]
King of the Children 孩子王 | |
---|---|
Film poster | |
Directed by | Chen Kaige |
Written by | He Jianjun Novella: Ah Cheng |
Starring | Chen Shaohua Xie Yuan |
Cinematography | Gu Changwei |
Release date |
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Running time | 107 minutes |
Country | China |
Language | Mandarin |
Plot
A young man is sent to teach at a rural school in a poverty stricken area of Yunnan province.
Cast
- Chen Shaohua
- Xie Yuan
- Yang Xuewen
Reception
King of the Children received a highly positive review in Time Out, where a reviewer wrote, “There are echoes here of a film like Padre Padrone, but Chen's film is completely free of flabby humanist sentimentality. [...] By Chinese standards, this is film-making brave to the point of being visionary. By any standards, this follow-up to Yellow Earth and The Big Parade is also something like a masterpiece.”[3]
References
- Canby, Vincent. "New York Times: King of the Children". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 August 2008.
- "Festival de Cannes: King of the Children". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 26 July 2009.
- "King of the Children, directed by Chen Kaige | Film review". Time Out London. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
External links
- King of the Children at IMDb
- King of the Children at AllMovie
- King of the Children from the Chinese Movie Database