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Thousand Pieces of Gold

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Thousand Pieces of Gold

Released Apr 26, 1991

1h 45m

Romance

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88%

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42 Reviews

68%

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250+ Ratings

Set in the 1880s, this film chronicles the journey of Lalu (Rosalind Chao), a Chinese woman whose financially desperate family sells her as a bride. She is sent to the United States, where she is bought by sleazy barkeep Hong King (Michael Paul Chan), who plans to make money off of Lalu by forcing her into a life of prostitution. Unwilling to submit to his demands, she begins her own successful business venture and captures the attention of the troubled but kindly Charlie (Chris Cooper).

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Critics Consensus

Thousand Pieces of Gold's technical deficiencies are handily outweighed by sterling work from a 24-karat cast -- and a story that has a fresh perspective on the American Old West.

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Carrie Rickey

Philadelphia Inquirer

Chao is charming and believable as strapping Lalu... How she comes to find angels in a country that in 1882 expelled Chinese immigrants makes for an involving tale.

Rated: 2.5/4

Feb 16, 2022

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Eleanor Ringel Cater

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Ms. Chao gives a spirited performance that's matched expertly by Mr. Cooper's aw-shucks courtliness and Mr. Chan's slick villainy... This first feature by independent filmmaker Nancy Kelly is a most winning little western.

Feb 16, 2022

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Martha K. Baker

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Despite some amateurish acting and editing, Thousand Pieces of Gold demands attention because of the very peculiar nature of this story of Lalu Nathoy (Rosalind Chao).

Feb 16, 2022

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

Thousand Pieces of Gold confronts the West, both its history and its place in American cinema.

Rated: 3.5/4

Feb 18, 2022

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Robin Dougherty

Boston Phoenix

1000 Pieces of Gold documents the lives of women who have thus far remained invisible. And Lalu’s own story is compelling, recounting the life of a woman who’s able to determine her own fate in a world in which she’s virtually powerless.

Feb 16, 2022

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Bill DuPre

News & Observer (Raleigh, NC)

With the sweep of an epic and the intimacy of an art film, Thousand Pieces of Gold is both an exploration of America's perverse magnanimity toward immigrants and a terse, eloquent story of love born of pragmatism.

Rated: 3/4

Feb 16, 2022

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Audience Member

The story is told with power and high drama, however, and the love that grows between Lalu and Charlie, like all loves that smoulder for a long time, becomes a great passion. And Rosalind Chao's performance is a wonder - the sort that, in a conventional Hollywood epic, would inspire Oscar speculation.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/25/23

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Audience Member

Very good, heart warming of a woman who was sold from China from her family and would not be a whore in a mining town. She worked as a slave until one day a man gambled and won her freedom. She gained respect from the town, and later lived out her life on her own homestead.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/20/23

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Audience Member

Hhhmm. I like Chris Cooper and I liked him together with Rosalind Chao. It felt like the story was there but I didn't enjoy it as much as I wanted to. I don't know what it was that kept me from liking it more.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/22/23

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Audience Member

Great movie! The scene on the cover they show with the synopsis on flixster is not even in the movie... so that's a little misleading, I guess. But great acting! I haven't seen Chris Cooper in a role like this and he was amazing. The story is obviously Hollywood-ized. I'm sure their love story was a lot less dramatic but the drama makes for an excellent film.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/17/23

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Audience Member

Plot keeps moving at a good pace. Is an interesting enough period piece that holds the viewer's attention.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/18/23

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Audience Member

This is my Roots. Chao does a brilliant job.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/05/23

Full Review

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Nancy Kelly

Director

Rosalind Chao

Lalu

Chris Cooper

Charlie

Dennis Dun

Jim

Michael Paul Chan

Hong King

Jimmie F. Skaggs

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Synopsis

Set in the 1880s, this film chronicles the journey of Lalu (Rosalind Chao), a Chinese woman whose financially desperate family sells her as a bride. She is sent to the United States, where she is bought by sleazy barkeep Hong King (Michael Paul Chan), who plans to make money off of Lalu by forcing her into a life of prostitution. Unwilling to submit to his demands, she begins her own successful business venture and captures the attention of the troubled but kindly Charlie (Chris Cooper).

Director: Nancy Kelly
Producer: Sarah Green, Nancy Kelly, Kenji Yamamoto
Screenwriter: Anne Makepeace
Production Co: American Playhouse, Filmcat, Channel Four Films
Genre: Romance
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 26, 1991, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 30, 2016
Runtime: 1h 45m

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