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Directed by Wu Tianming

Screenplay by Wei Minglun

Based on the story by Chen Wengui

Actors:

CHU YUK

CHAO YIM YIN

ZHANG RIUYANG

ZHAO ZHIGANG

When you can send an e-mail to someone halfway around the globe and receive an instantaneous reply, it’s clear that we all live in a global village. Yet I don’t think any medium is more powerful than film in fostering our understanding of different cultures and creating empathy for people we might never meet. Every time I see a film from China, for instance, I get more than an interesting story; I learn about deep-rooted traditions and customs that still inform their way of life.

The King of Masks is a simple yet eloquent story, set in the rural world of Sichuan in the 1930s. A lowly street entertainer named Wang (played by Chu Yuk) is getting on in years and has but one asset, the secret technique that enables him to switch masks in the blink of an eye. This art is known as “face changing” and it is wondrous to behold. Even the country’s leading actor, who is pampered and praised, bows to the mastery of this humble performer. But Wang despairs that he has no heir to whom he can pass on the ancient ritual and it secrets.

Chinese tradition dictates that he can only bequeath his assets to a son, so because life is cheap—especially the life of a child during difficult times—he purchases a little boy on the black market, and nicknames him Doggie. How this leads to heartbreak, political gamesmanship, and the true expression of love is what makes this film so magical.

Wu Tianming, who directed The King of Masks (from a screenplay by Wei Minglun) is considered one of the founders of modern Chinese cinema. As the head of the Xi’an Film Studio, he served as mentor to such young filmmakers as Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou. But he was also outspoken, and spent eight years in exile before returning to his homeland to make this beautiful movie. Although the tale is set in the 1930s, its points about social hypocrisy and the value of life are still relevant today, and show that Tianming lost none of his edge during his years away from China.

The beauty of The King of Masks is that so much of its story is visual, not verbal, which only underscores its universality. Why it isn’t celebrated alongside other contemporary Chinese films is a mystery to me. I think it’s a gem.

64. KING OF THE HILL

(1993)

Directed by Steven Soderbergh

Screenplay by Steven Soderbergh

Based on the memoir by A. E. Hotchner

Actors:

JESSE BRADFORD

JEROEN KRABBÉ

LISA EICHHORN

KAREN ALLEN

SPALDING GRAY

ELIZABETH MCGOVERN

JOSEPH CHREST

ADRIEN BRODY

CAMERON BOYD

AMBER BENSON

KRISTIN GRIFFITH

REMAK RAMSAY

KATHERINE HEIGL

When I see a movie I like, I want to spread the word about it. When, on all-too-rare occasions, I see a movie I love I become a one-man public relations campaign, urging friends and even strangers to see it. But sometimes fate, and the vicissitudes of the movie business, can work against even the best-reviewed picture.

King of the Hill was the third feature film written and directed by Steven Soderbergh, who burst on the scene in 1989 with his award-winning sleeper sex, lies, and videotape. His second film, Kafka, was universally considered a failure. (I must say, I disagree; when I first met Soderbergh I told him I was the guy who liked Kafka and he replied, “Then you are the guy who liked it.”)

He rebounded with King of the Hill, an exquisite piece of work that won laudatory reviews (including four stars from Roger Ebert)…but because its distributor opened it in just a handful of theaters, and it lacked marquee names to draw people in, it lingered for a little while and then vanished. Although it is owned by Universal Pictures (which absorbed the assets of its original distributor), it has never been released on DVD in the United States. I cling to my now-precious laser disc version, and urge anyone else who wants to see it to scan their cable and satellite listings, purchase a used VHS cassette, or find a European-issue DVD online. The film is worth making that kind of effort