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.
Contents
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".