A Great Master Recaptured

In real life, he is a handsome man; on stage, he is a feminine woman. He had played over 180 female roles during his art career. It is Mei Lanfang, a master artist of Peking Opera.

The documentary art film, A Great Master Recaptured, presented exclusively by China Central News and Documentary Film Studio is a biography on the stagecraft and emotional life of Mei Lanfang, a great master of Peking Opera, and the establishment and development of the Mei School. This 90-minute-film has created four sets of time and space. The first time and space is a historical one brought about by authentic documentation, through which the audience can see the real images and watch old footage of Mei Lanfang from his thirties to sixties. The second time and space is achieved by retracing places where Mei Lanfang had lived, visited and performed. It evokes a strong memory of this grand master among the audience. The third time and space is a spiritual one about Mei’s stagecraft. The charm of the Mei School is showcased by the record of singing of Mei Lanfang himself and the performance of his third-generation disciples. The fourth one is the emotional time and space of Mei Lanfang as a common person. It is achieved by the affectionate recollection by Mei Baojiu, the only descendent of Mei Lanfang who inherits his mantle. The four sets of time and space endow this documentary film, which is of great value in documentation itself, with strong artistic sensation.