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Life on a String ()

Bian zou bian chang (original title)
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A blind man's master told him that after he has broken 1000 strings on his Banjo, he can open the Banjo to get a script for his eyes. After 60 years he broke the 1000th string...
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Cast verified as complete

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Zhongyuan Liu ...
Old Master
...
Shitou
...
Lanxiu
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Yao Er Ga ...
Retarded man at noodle stall (as Erga Yao)
Ling Ma ...
Noodle stall owner's wife
Jinzhan Zhang ...
Lanxiu's father
Zhengyuan Zhang ...
Noodle stall owner / God of death
Ling Zhong ...
Pharmacist

Directed by

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Kaige Chen

Written by

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Kaige Chen ... ()
 
Tiesheng Shi ... (novel)

Produced by

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Karl Baumgartner ... co-producer / executive producer
Rubin Cai ... co-producer / executive producer
Masato Hara ... associate producer
Francisco Hoyos ... associate producer
Huang Hung ... co-producer
Donald Ranvaud ... producer

Music by

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Xiaosong Qu

Cinematography by

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Changwei Gu

Editing by

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Xiaonan Pei

Art Direction by

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Ruigang Shao

Set Decoration by

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Chunpu Wang

Costume Design by

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Jidong Chen
Jizong Liu

Makeup Department

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Chaohong Hu ... makeup artist
Liqiu Wang ... makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director

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Jie Cheng ... assistant director
Jinzhan Zhang ... assistant director

Sound Department

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Ray Gillon ... sound consultant
Uwe Lauterkorn ... supervising sound editor
Jing Tao ... sound
Joe Zhen ... boom operator / sound engineer

Visual Effects by

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Lisa Atkinson ... china visual effects

Camera and Electrical Department

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Jianmin Ji ... lighting technician
Zhenhua Wang ... lighting technician

Music Department

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Martin Steyer ... music mixer

Production Companies

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Distributors

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Special Effects

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Storyline

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Plot Summary

Two blind men pursue ephemeral and unlikely hopes. One is an aged master, a wandering troubador venerated as a saint, in physical decline, waiting to break his 1,000th banjo string, an event his own master promised years before would bring him sight. The other is his apprentice, Shidou, who longs for a woman's love and is enchanted with the radiant and spirited Lanxiu. The two men are encamped outside Lanxiu's village, the saint using his energy and voice to bring peace between warring factions. Does sight await the saint when the 1000th string breaks? Can Shidou's strength of character overcome provincial prejudice to win the hand of Lanxiu and a place in the village? Written by

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Also Known As
  • Die Weissagung (Germany)
  • Die Weissagung des Meisters (Germany)
  • Life on a String (United Kingdom)
  • Life on a String (World-wide, English title)
  • Life on a String (United States)
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Runtime
  • 110 min
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Did You Know?

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Quotes Old Master: [singing during a conflict] Each of you is a person. Each of us is a person. Each of them is a person. When! Oh when did we learn to hate and resent one another, blame and cheat one another. Bully and make fun of one another, stop loving each other. When! Oh when did we start behaving like animals. Not like humans at all! When one person strikes another... one grieves, the other mourns. One is sad, the other weeps. Yet another becomes angry... angrier and angrier. And so once more one person strikes another. When! Oh when will we learn to love one another. Help one another. Respect one another. Yield to one another. Save one another. Hold out your hand to another. When will we learn to stop hating each other. Be true to ourselves! Be human again! With our feet on the ground. Standing tall beneath the heavens. Human at last!
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