Electric Shadows (2005)

That was an excellent one.

Don't listen to the negative reviews

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

1st watched 4/2/2009 – 7 out of 10 (Dir-Xiao Jiang): Well delivered, emotional story about a girl, her ups & downs in her life, and how movie viewing and movies in general, were involved in the whole process. The main character is introduced at the beginning of the film after a paper boy runs into a stack of bricks in an alley and is assaulted by the girl for some reason. When he awakes from his injury, he wants to find out why she did this and looks for her. When he finds her, she doesn't tell him why she did this(she also can't hear, it appears) but asks him to take care of and feed her fish – knowing she's going away. He doesn't really want to do this, but as her enters her apartment where she lives he discovers a mini theatre-like room with a diary that he begins reading. The diary reveals the life of the girl and the movie then really begins as we discover what her life was like. The story of her and her family revolves around an outdoor theatre that the local townfolk come to in the evenings. Her mom announces the evening event through a loud speaker and becomes associated when the man who plays the films. Her mom wanted to be a movie star or singer but after bearing a child(the main character) out of wedlock is shunned by the locals and her dreams disappear. The rest of the movie follows the young girls friendships made and lost and the history of the outdoor theatre that eventually closes down due to the invention of television. The daughter is told early in life that her real father is a movie star(which is not true) but this also keeps her fascinated to the screen. The movie is wonderful at how it displays this story and the various characters although it is sad at various times, but if you are looking for an interesting and compelling and sensitive story about real life you will enjoy this one.

ELECTRIC SHADOWS is the delightfully charming debut from the Chinese director, Xiao Jiang. Her film asserts that there is a wondrous and remarkable connection between the mystery of dreaming and film appreciation. In Chinese, 'electric shadows' is the literal translation for the word 'cinema'. The characters in this film have an intense emotional attachment for motion pictures, and their lives have been shaped and guided by the movies they love. The rather strange storyline concerns a bicycle delivery driver who crashes his bike and is assaulted by a mysterious young woman. She is apprehended, and allows him to stay in her apartment to feed her fish. Within her apartment is a shrine to the Golden Age of Chinese motion pictures. During his stay, he discovers the girl's diary, and then the film becomes a flashback about how she came under the spell of the cinema. ELECTRIC SHADOWS is a marvelous mix of drama, comedy and tragedy with several young children in leading roles who effectively portray the innocence and delight of childhood. ELECTRIC SHADOWS is an alluring and enthralling melodrama which interprets the irresistible power of film.

Jiang Xian uses the complex backstory of Ling Ling and Mao Daobing to study Mao's "cultural revolution" (1966-1976) at the village level. The film has the elements and pace of Chinese opera and so appears slow and sometimes sentimental to the foreign viewer. But the movie provides a window onto contemporary life in China, with its focus upon villagers in the city, the consuming quality of subsistence--daily struggle, family and local cruelties--and the appeal of movies as escape, fantasy, and, ultimately, as source of community. This last is the most radical element in the film, for it suggests the modern--and universal--experience of culture will replace the insular Chinese traditions. The child actors are particularly fine.

I loved this movie! It was much better than Beijing Bicycle and most other contemporary Chinese films taking place in modern China. Xia Yu delivers an amazing performance as is expected from him. This movie is somewhat comparable to The Notebook. It definitely ranks up there next to Crouching Tiger and Hero. I cannot praise the movie enough. The movie really has a great twist. It is worth renting all the way. I especially like the portrayal of 1970's China and modern day Beijing. The film sequences from old movies are also great! Being Chinese, I found this movie somewhat accurate in depicting the 1970s. I would recommend this to movie!