The Faces of My Gene (2018) – Chinese Movie Review

Why You Should Watch The Faces of My Gene

I am so excited to recommend the comedy movie The Faces of My Gene (祖宗十九代 Zǔzōng shíjiǔ dài) to you.

等风来不如追风去 Děng fēng lái bù rú zhuī fēng qù
It’s better to chase after the wind instead of waiting for it

The Faces of My Gene (2018): Where to watch

The Faces of My Gene (2018): Spoiler alert

The Faces of My Gene (2018): The theme song

The Faces of My Gene (2018): Degang Guo

The Faces of My Gene (2018): Cast

The Faces of My Gene (2018): FAQ’s

The Faces of My Gene (2018): Where to watch

The Faces of My Gene can be watched for free on most Chinese streaming sites such as ixigua or Youku.

Both sites have English subtitles available for the movie.

The Faces of My Gene (2018): Spoiler alert

The Faces of My Gene
The Faces of My Gene

A young writer Xiao Bei (小贝 xiǎo bèi) is unable to become famous because he isn’t good looking enough.

This news has made him become quite frustrated with life.

He can’t help but wonder what his ancestors looked like, were they beautiful?

He finds an old family tree and accidentally ends up travelling through time, getting to meet his ancestors.

He meets with his ancestors from all over the past, from the early 20th century, the Qing Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty and the Jin dynasty leading to lots of funny events.

He even goes back to ancient times and meets with with Nüwa (女娲 nǚ wā) a mythical Chinese goddess and Kuafu (夸父 kuāfù) a mythical Chinese giant to discuss the origins and significance of life.

Throughout his journey he witnesses many forms of love and gains confidence and responsibility along his travels.

Finally, he experiences the transformation of human nature and evolves as a person.

The Faces of My Gene (2018): The Theme Song

The theme song is called Is it Important to be Beautiful (漂亮重要吗 piàoliang zhòngyào ma).

The Faces of My Gene (2018): Degang Guo

The Faces of My Gene is directed by Degang Guo 郭德纲 (guō dégāng), he is a personal idol of mine.

Degang Guo is a famous crosstalk comedian, he is also an actor and TV host.

Degang Guo is the founder of De Yun She (德云社 Dé yún shè) one of the most famous large-scale professional crosstalk societies in China.

If you come to Beijing, you can visit Deyunshe in Sanlitun or Qianmen

For those who are unfamiliar, crosstalk or 相声 (xiàngsheng) as it’s called in Chinese, is a comic dialogue typically performed by two people.

The Faces of My Gene (2018): Cast

The movie has over 30 celebrities in a star studded cast!

  • Yunpeng Yue (岳云鹏 Yuè yúnpéng) plays Xiaobei in the movie. He is another famous crosstalk comedian and actor. He actually started off as one of Degang Guo’s students.
  • Bingbing Fan (范冰冰 Fàn bīngbīng) plays one of Xiaobei’s ancestors. She is one of China’s most famous actresses and one of the highest paid actresses in the world!
  • Wu Jing (吴京 Wújīng) plays another one of Xiaobei’s ancestors. You might recognise him from the hit Chinese action movie Wolf Warrior.

Despite having a star studded cast the movie didn’t rank very highly with critics in China.

Watch the movie and find out for yourself whether you think it is good, you are welcome to share your opinion in the comment section below.

The Faces of My Gene (2018) : FAQ’s

Can I watch The Faces of My Gene on Youtube?

The Faces of My Gene doesn’t seem to be available to watch on YouTube, however it can be found on almost any Chinese streaming platform for free, along with English subtitles.

How do you say The Faces of My Gene in Chinese?

In Chinese The Faces of My Gene is called 祖宗十九代 (zǔzōng shíjiǔ dài).

Who is Degang Guo?

Degang Guo is the director of The Faces of My Gene. He is a famous crosstalk actor and the founder of the crosstalk group De Yun She.

Why should I watch this The Faces of My Gene?

You should watch The Faces of My Gene because it is a fun movie to watch and quite easy to understand, especially with English subtitles. It’s also a good introduction to different Chinese dynasties.

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