Iron & Silk is a 1990 American 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. 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" to "unsophisticated [and] bittersweet". The movie was met with some criticism, ranging from "an unhappy teenager's fantasy of finally fitting in" to "we're talking geekarama here".
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