King Of The Children: (English Subtitled) DVD Region All

Che Yuen (Actor) | Yang Xue Wen (Actor) | Chen Kaige (Director)
Release Date: 2007-11-12
Language: Mandarin
Subtitles: English, Simplified Chinese
Country of Origin: China
Picture Format: NTSC
Disc Format(s): DVD
Region Code: All Region
Duration: 105 (mins)
Publisher: Gan Su Sheng Yin Xiang Chu Ban She
Package Weight: 120 (g)
Shipment Unit: 1


Description:

Acclaimed Fifth Generation director Chen Kaige makes two kinds of films: grand period epics like Farewell My Concubine, The Emperor and Assassin, and The Promise, or quiet human dramas like Yellow Earth, Together, and King of the Children. Though he has become more well known for the epics in recent years, it is with the latter that Chen first built his filmmaking career. It was after all his pioneering Yellow Earth that announced modern Chinese cinema to the world in 1984, and for the next decade until 1993's Farewell My Concubine, Chen was known for small, sensitive, and intelligent dramas that found popularity with critics and scholars, if not at the box office.

Released in 1987 and adapted from a novel by Ah Cheng, King of the Children is set in a remote mountain village during the Cultural Revolution. With a shortage of teachers to go around, youth Old Cha, the most educated of the village, is chosen to be the teacher, the "King of the Children". With limited resources, Old Cha does what he can to fulfill his task, copying textbooks and teaching from the dictionary to illiterate children. He teaches his students to read and write, but his method and teaching content goes against the prescribed curriculum, bringing him trouble with the authorities. Nominated for the Golden Palm at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival, King of the Children excels with its ironic humor, stark and beautiful cinematography, and simple, compelling story.