King of the Children

King of the Children (1989)

Genres - Drama, Culture & Society, Historical Film  |   Sub-Genres - Rural Drama, Social Problem Film  |   Run Time - 107 min.  |   Countries - China  |   MPAA Rating - NR
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Synopsis by Brian Whitener

Set during the twilight of the Cultural Revolution, Chen Kaige's third film, King of the Children, concerns a young man who is sent from the city to the country for his scheduled tour of farm labor. Upon arriving in this remote mountain area, he -- much to his surprise -- is asked to become a teacher even though he lacks all the customary qualifications. Confronted with the apathy of his students, the young man decides to throw out the Maoist textbook, which includes such tedious exercises as copying all the characters out of the dictionary, and teach his students to think about the world around them. Just as he begins to connect with his pupils, the authorities catch wind of his pedagogical departures and severely reprimand him. Shot on-location in the Yuan province, King of the Children features some beautiful landscape photography of the region's forested mountains and precipitous river valleys.

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Keywords

farmhand, school, teacher, totalitarianism, mountains