Courtesy photo
MOVIE REVIEW
Schemes in Antiques (2021)
Based on Ma Boyong’s novel, which has already spawned a popular TV series, “Schemes in Antiques” revolves around a Chinese national treasure – the head of a Buddha statue from Wu Zetian’s palace during the Tang Dynasty – gifted to the Japanese sometime during the early 20th century. Kana Kido (Lilie Matsumine) now wishes to return it on condition that the recipient must be a descendant of Xu Yicheng, the authority on antiques accused of treason and executed for giving the Buddha head away. Following the fall from grace of grandpa Yicheng and abandonment by his father, Xu Heping (Guo Tao), Xu Yuan (Lei Jiayin) trades electronics and dabbles in small-time scams at flea-market auctions.