Thousand Pieces of Gold (1991)

Rosalind Chao is Lalu, a young Chinese woman sold by her father during a three-year drought in her homeland.

She’s taken first to San Franciso, then to a Oregon mining camp where Hong King (Michael Paul Chan) runs a saloon and has paid $1,500 for her.

He plans to enjoy her for a night, then put her to work as a whore in his saloon.

But she’s a determined young woman with no interest in becoming everyone’s “wife.” She rather kill them — or herself — first.

Charlie Bemis (Chris Cooper), the man who leases the saloon to Hong King, convinces him to have her work off her debt in other ways.

And so Lalu becomes an indentured servant of sorts, dreaming of the day she can raise enough money to return to her home in China.

Dennis Dun plays Jim, the young Chinese man who delivers Lalu to Oregon and would like to make her his wife.

Charlies begins to take a romantic interest in her as well, especially after he has to rescue her from Hong King for a second time.

Trouble comes again when the miners begin retaliating against the Chinese in camp, blaming them for their inability to make a decent living.

Rosalind Chao as Lalu, happy to have gained her independence in Thousand Pieces of Gold (1991)

Chris Cooper as Charlie Bemis in Thousand Pieces of Gold (1991)

Review:

If you’re looking for an action-packed Western, look elsewhere.

But this is an engrossing character study of one young woman’s plight in the Old West, and you’ll soon find yourself rooting for Rosalind Chao’s character.

Okay, she escapes a life of prostitution a bit too easily, especially considering how much her “owner” invested in her with hopes of turning a profit.

But the film does an excellent job of portraying Lalu as a woman willing to work as hard as necessary to accomplish her dream — returning to her father on a white horse with a whole herd of sheep.

Dennis Dun as Jim, the freighter who delivers Lalu to an Oregan mining camp, then tries to buy her freedom in Thousand Pieces of Gold (1991)

Michael Paul Chan as Hong King, in a high-stakes poker game with Charlie Bemis in Thousand Pieces of Gold (1991)

Directed by:
Nancy Kelly

Cast:
Rosalind Chao … Lalu
Chris Cooper … Charlie Bemis
Michael Paul Chan … Hong King
Dennis Dun … Jim
Jimmie Skaggs … Jonas
Will Oldham … Miles
David Hayward … Ohio
Beth Broderick … Berthe
Kim Chan … Li Ping
Welli Fan … Sayan
Evan C. Kim … Shun Lee
Freda Foh Shen … Ah Ling

Runtime: 105 min.

Rosalind Chao as Lalu, prepared for her saloon debut by Berthe (Beth Broderick) in Thousand Pieces of Gold (1991)

Rosalind Chao as Lalu accuses Jim of delivering her to a dismal fate in Thousand Pieces of Gold (1991)

Memorable lines:

Jim to Lalu: “My name is Li Po. But it’s easier for the white demons to say Jim.”

Lalu to Hong King: “You can’t sell my flesh to ghosts. I belong to you. I won’t be a hundred men’s wife.”

Hong King to Lalu: “I did not buy you for conversation.”

Lalu, angry at Jim upon his return: “You knew. You say you bring me to husband. You leave me to be whore for ghosts.”

Lalu: “I’m free?”
Charlie: “You’re as free as anyone.”

Charlie to Lalu: “You know, I went home for a while after the war. Sometimes, you just can’t go back to the way you were.”

Charlie: “Polly, do you still think we’re all demons?”
Lalu smiles.
Charlie: “Well, you’re right. But some of us, we just need an angel like you to save us from ourselves.”