A dvd lent to me by a friend. The unassuming cover doesn’t give much of a clue to the depth of the story within. At the superficial level it is the story of an old performer with an art that had been passed on to him through many generations. It chronicles his efforts to find someone to inherit his art, particularly, a son. Since he doesn’t have any relatives of his own, he goes to the black market and mistakenly acquires a young girl. The inevitable rejection comes and the little girl must fight through literal hell to prove to the old man that she is worthy not just of his art, but of his love as well.
For me though, it is so much more than this. It is a story of honor and the purity of spirit that one must have to save it and preserve it for the sake of those we love. The old man, the King of Masks, with his many changing faces, stubbornly clung to the unbroken tradition of passing his art on to a son because it was his responsibility to maintain the legacy. He could not easily abandon who he really is - it isn’t something that could be changed as easily as his masks. But he wasn’t the only one with many faces. The child, Doggie, had to pretend to be a boy to escape the cruel fate of hunger and abuse that poverty had given her. A famous opera star must take on the role of a Living Boddhisattva to bring a message of true sacrifice to his audiences. Their lives had intertwined because they all fought for what they believed to be the honorable thing they had to do.
I was just happy that in the end, everyone got what they deserved. The King of Masks had his heir, and Doggie had her adoptive grandfather’s love, respect, and pride. And the art, of course, was ALIVE. This movie took me through an emotional roller coaster ride, and the ending didn’t fail. Every artist should see this film. Just so they would realize the real extent of how true art affects the lives of people and what they would sacrifice for it. Because in the end, it’s love, most of all, that is the result of honoring any artform. If an old man, a young girl, and a renowned performer would willingly die for the love of each other borne of their art, then surely anybody who knows its value would also be willing to honor it in whatever way they must.
For me though, it is so much more than this. It is a story of honor and the purity of spirit that one must have to save it and preserve it for the sake of those we love. The old man, the King of Masks, with his many changing faces, stubbornly clung to the unbroken tradition of passing his art on to a son because it was his responsibility to maintain the legacy. He could not easily abandon who he really is - it isn’t something that could be changed as easily as his masks. But he wasn’t the only one with many faces. The child, Doggie, had to pretend to be a boy to escape the cruel fate of hunger and abuse that poverty had given her. A famous opera star must take on the role of a Living Boddhisattva to bring a message of true sacrifice to his audiences. Their lives had intertwined because they all fought for what they believed to be the honorable thing they had to do.
I was just happy that in the end, everyone got what they deserved. The King of Masks had his heir, and Doggie had her adoptive grandfather’s love, respect, and pride. And the art, of course, was ALIVE. This movie took me through an emotional roller coaster ride, and the ending didn’t fail. Every artist should see this film. Just so they would realize the real extent of how true art affects the lives of people and what they would sacrifice for it. Because in the end, it’s love, most of all, that is the result of honoring any artform. If an old man, a young girl, and a renowned performer would willingly die for the love of each other borne of their art, then surely anybody who knows its value would also be willing to honor it in whatever way they must.
(posted elsewhere 21 Aug 2005)
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