ELECTRIC SHADOWS (Mandarin) – 4

ELECTRIC SHADOWS (Mandarin 2004 – 93 min) is the literal translation for the Chinese term for cinema or "dian ying" (電影). It is the debut feature film of director Xiao Jiang, one of the few active female directors in China. Xiao and Chen Qingsong wrote the screenplay. The film was produced by companies in mainland China and Hong Kong.

Cast -

  • Xia Yu as Mao Xiaobing/Dabing;
  • Qi Zhongyang as Ling-Ling;
  • Jiang Yihon as Jiang Xuehua, Ling-Ling's mother;
  • Guan Xiaotong as Ling-Ling as a young girl;
  • Li Haibin as Pan, a friendly movie projectionist;
  • Wang Zhengjia as Mao Xiaobing as a young boy
  • Zhang Yijing as Ling-Ling as a teenager.

We meet the heroine of the film, Ling Ling, as she commits what appears to be an act of senseless violence-- striking a delivery man on the head with a brick. When the wounded victim (Mao Dabing) confronts his assailant, we are confounded by her silent insistence that he go to her apartment and feed her fish. Dumbfounded, the victim agrees and there begins a journey back into the events that led up to Ling Ling's seemingly incomprehensible action against him. The film flashes back to Ling-Ling's mother as a young woman.It is this backward shift of gears that forces a discovery of character revelation which goes beyond a simple childhood love of film.
As Dabing sifts through Ling Ling's possessions, mainly her diaries, he comes to learn how life sometimes has a peculiar way of coming full circle; events which may seem random and senseless are not always necessarily what they seem to be. As the plot unfolds, we see that this is also a film about forgiveness and reconciliation.

ELECTRIC SHADOWS, however, is mainly about love of movies, particularly, about an obsessive love for the few movies allowed during China’s Cultural Revolution that forms a powerful bond between two small town children. A New York Times critic called the film, “Enthralling…evokes the world experienced by two children who are so close that they are able share the same enchanted fantasy.”

“Lovely, elegant!” - The Hollywood Reporter

“Joyous, unforgettable! A welcome gift to movie lovers everywhere.” -This Week in New York

“ELECTRIC SHADOWS is sweet and accomplished and Xiao Jiang is a terrific new find!” - The Hollywood Reporter