The King of Masks (1996)

The King of Masks 1996 / 变脸 1996 / Bian Lian

Wang is an ageing street performer known as the King of Mask for his mastery of the opera art of Change-Mask. His wife left him with their infant son over 30 years ago, and later, his son died of an illness at age 10. This left Wang a melancholy loner, aching for a male heir to teach and pass on this rare and dying art. Then, one night after a performance, he is sold a young boy by a slave trader posing as the boy's parent. ‟Grandpa‟ finds new joy in life as he plans to teach ‟Doggie‟ (an affectionate term often used for young children in China) his art. All is well until Doggie is found out to really be a girl.