King of the Children
1987 film
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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]
Novella:
Ah Cheng
Xie Yuan
| 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 |
|
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]
