Iron & Silk (film)

Iron & Silk
Directed by	Shirley Sun
Produced by	Shirley Sun
Screenplay by	Mark Salzman
Based on	Iron & Silk; by Mark Salzman
Starring	Mark Salzman; Vivian Wu; Pan Qingfu; Jeanette Lin Tsui
Music by	Michael Gibbs
Cinematography	James Hayman
Edited by	James Y. Kwei; Geraldine Peroni
Production; company	SUN-Productions; Tokyo Broadcasting System
Distributed by	Prestige Films; (United States); Cineplex Odeon Films; (Canada)
Release date	January 20, 1990; (Sundance Film Festival); February 15, 1991; (New York City)
Running time	101 minutes
Country	Canada
Language	English

Iron & Silk is a 1990 Canadian action comedy-drama based on the eponymous book by American writer Mark Salzman. It details his journey to China after college to study Chinese wu shu, better known in the west as kung fu, and to teach English. Though not trained as an actor, Salzman starred as himself, as did Pan Qingfu, who claimed no one else could portray him on film.[1] Salzman's experiences occurred in Changsha, Hunan, though the film was shot in Hangzhou, Zhejiang. The film was directed by Shirley Sun, and was the editorial debut for Geraldine Peroni.

Plot

Mark Franklin arrives in Hangzhou, China to teach Chinese teachers the English language. He learns the refinements of correct behavior among Chinese people, makes friends with his pupils, falls in love with the young doctor Ming, learns wushu (Chinese martial arts) from the famous teacher Pan... but also learns about political repression, especially when he's forbidden contact with some of his friends.

Cast

Main cast

Mark Salzman as Mark Franklin
Vivian Wu as Ming
Pan Qingfu as himself, a martial arts master
Jeanette Lin Tsui as Teacher Hei
Sun Xudong as Sinbad

Others

To Funglin as Old Sheep
Hu Yun as Fatty Du
Dong Hangcheng as Teacher Cai
Lu Zhiquan as Teacher Li
Xiao Ying as April
Yang Xiru as Dr. Wang
Zhuang Genyuan as Teacher Xu
Jiang Xihong as Teacher Zhang
He Saifei as the Yue opera performer who played Madame White Snake
Xia Saili (He Saifei's sister) as the Yue opera performer who played Xu Xian
Chen Huiling as the Yue opera performer who played Xiaoqing

Reception

The movie gained mostly positive reviews, ranging from a "modest charmer; a true sleeper"[2] to "unsophisticated [and] bittersweet".[3] The movie was met with some criticism, ranging from "an unhappy teenager's fantasy of finally fitting in"[4] to "we're talking geekarama here".[5]

References

Kristof, Nicholas D. (January 22, 1989). "FILM; An Old Eli Performs As Kung Fu Star in China". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-12-17.
Brown, Joe (March 8, 1991). "Iron & Silk". Washington Post. Retrieved 2010-12-16.
Thomas, Kevin (March 8, 1991). "MOVIE REVIEW : 'Iron & Silk': Innocent Abroad". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-12-16.
Kehr, Dave (February 22, 1991). "Ambiguous 'Iron & Silk' Is Cut From Different Cloth". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2011-03-29.
Briggs, Joe Bob (October 9, 1992). "'Iron & Silk': Ok, It's Great Kung Fu But The Star Is A Wimp". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 2011-03-29.

External links

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[1] Kristof, Nicholas D. (January 22, 1989). "FILM; An Old Eli Performs As Kung Fu Star in China". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-12-17.

[2] Brown, Joe (March 8, 1991). "Iron & Silk". Washington Post. Retrieved 2010-12-16.

[3] Thomas, Kevin (March 8, 1991). "MOVIE REVIEW : 'Iron & Silk': Innocent Abroad". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-12-16.

[4] Kehr, Dave (February 22, 1991). "Ambiguous 'Iron & Silk' Is Cut From Different Cloth". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2011-03-29.

[5] Briggs, Joe Bob (October 9, 1992). "'Iron & Silk': Ok, It's Great Kung Fu But The Star Is A Wimp". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 2011-03-29.