SAN MAO LIU LANG JI

Date1949

DescriptionAlthough based on a comic strip this is not a comedy but an often next to brutal story about a young orphan who tries to make it on the streets. You see pretty graphic scenes of children being dirty and starving. Longji Wang does do a tremendous job as Sanmao, a boy who has three long hairs pasted on his head along with a tuft on hair on top of his head. Its sometimes sad to see this. While the Little Rascals highlighted lower middle class kids, it was played mostly for laughs. There are a few funny parts, but this is also a grim tale. Although I found it very watchable you just want something good to happen to this kid. I recommend it if you're interested in "classic" Chinese cinema. Otherwise, skip it, especially if you work with children.

(http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0470084)

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