Thousand Pieces of Gold

Director: Nancy Kelly Nancy Kelly

Overview

Produced on a shoestring $2 million budget, documentary director Nancy Kelly and her husband, editor Kenji Yamamoto created this romantic western based on a true story. Rosalind Chao stars as Lalu Nathoy, a young woman sold into marriage by her impoverished father in late 19th century China. Lalu is transported to the U.S. by a slave trader, Jim (Dennis Dun), on whom she develops a crush. Although conflicted, Jim fulfills his professional obligation to deliver Lalu to Hong King (Michael Paul Chan), a saloon owner in a rough Idaho mining town. Refusing to participate in Hong King's plan to make her into an exotic prostitute, Lalu keeps her dignity about her and wins the adoration of Charlie (Chris Cooper), Hong King's white, alcoholic partner. Despite the prejudice of the locals, Lalu becomes a cleaning woman and a successful laundress. Though she dreams of marriage to Jim or escape to China, she recognizes Charlie's admirable qualities after a violent incident that casts him in a different light.

Product Details

Release Date:	05/26/2020
UPC:	0738329247126
Original Release:	1990
Source:	Kino Lorber
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo]
Language:	English
Time:	1:46:00
Sales rank:	37,074

Special Features

Closed Caption; Radio interview with director Nancy Kelly (courtesy of Chinamerica Radio); Audio commentary with Nancy Kelly and producer Kenji Yamamoto; Trailer

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Rosalind Chao	Lalu/Polly
Chris Cooper	Charlie Bemis
Dennis Dun	Jim
Michael Paul Chan	Hong King,Li Ping
Jimmie F. Skaggs	Jonas
Will Oldham	Miles
David Hayward	Ohio
Beth Broderick	Berthe
Evan Kim	Shun Lee
Freda Foh Shen	Ah Ling
Mary Matvy	Francoise
Albert J. Kalanick	Parker
Mary Lee	Li Yuan
Jianli Zhang	Chen
Saachiko	Li Ma
Ron Dorn	John Span
Danny Wong	Buyer
George Kee Cheung	Lung On

Technical Credits

Nancy Kelly	Director,Producer
Kenji Yamamoto	Producer
Sidney Kantor	Executive Producer
Lindsay Law	Executive Producer
John Sham	Executive Producer

Editorial Reviews

The Chinese experience on the American frontier is a neglected subject in film, so this film, about a Chinese woman sold into a kind of slavery in an Oregon mining town but managing to maintain her dignity, is especially welcome. There are few surprises in this gently told tale; when Lalu arrives in town, the first two white men to greet her are a swarthy miner with a Confederate flag on his hat and a gentler saloon owner who shows her kindness and respect. You know the first man will wind up lusting after Lalu and eventually start spouting anti-Chinese sentiments when he can't succeed in bedding her. The second man is Charlie Bemis, and at the halfway point of the story, he manages to "win" Lalu in a card game, saving her from a reversal of the fate worse than death of many a silent film melodrama: the woman sold into white slavery at the hands of leering Orientals. The second half of the story has Charlie and Lalu reaching a truce of sorts; she won't be his lover, either, but she'll live under his roof while she searches for ways to make enough money to return to her homeland. There are two other pairs of men in Lalu's life: Jim and Hong King, the Chinese American entrepreneurs who treat her like a commodity, though Jim comes to regret his attitude; and a pair of father figures, one who betrays Lalu, the other who teaches her to reconcile her past with her future. The beautiful Rosalind Chao makes the most of a rare lead role, and as Charlie, Chris Cooper offers his usual measure of taciturn integrity.