Product: Shadow Magic [VHS] (2001)
Rating: 4.0
Friendship Through The First Motion Picture Show in China
Loosely based on the Chinese cinema history, "Shadow Magic" portrays the people surrounding the first showing of moving picture in Beijing, China in 1902. But the film is more about the fictional chacaters involved in it rather than about the event itself, so do not expect any historical accuracy. And "Shadow Magic" succeeds as the former kind of picture.Jared Harris (son of late Richard Harris) is in the film as a British entrepreneur Raymond Wallace, who is eagar to make some money, showing the films he brought from the West, but, good as he is, it is not Harris who carries the whole picture. It is Chinese actor Xia Yu as Liu, a technician at photography studio who is really remarkable in "Shadow Magic," and he is just wondeful. Liu, interested in anything new from the West, is a kind of misfit in the traditional Chinese society, and naturally, is the first one to get hooked by the idea of Raymond -- showing the "Shadow Magic" in China. They gradually begin to understand each other, and the rapport between these likable fellows is definitely the best part of the show.The story written by director Ann Hu, I must say, needs some trimming, sometimes filled with clithed moments. And some viewers object to the way the Chinese society or culture is depicted here, claiming inaccuracy in the film. Probably, the film's director Ann Hu is already conscious of that, for she is born in China, and lived through the time of Revolution and Chiarman Mao, and then she left the country to study abroad, in USA where she lives now. Any production designs should be taken, I assume, as her own creations. If the story or atomosphere of the film looks like a blend of the West and the East, it is probably her intention, or the result of her cultural background. And I just do not think that the portrayals of Chinese people are seen through patronizing eye of Westerners. True, they sometimes suffer from clithe, but fairly done, showing enough variety of people among them, avoiding one-dimentional characterization of the East.The most moving scene of the film is, of course, the first moment in which the people first see the picture and react joyfully. You might have heard some famous episodes about the first viewers in Paris cafe where the Lumiere Brothers showed a short film of a train arriving at the station. The same thing happens to the Chinese people. The theme is thus universal.And again I say, the most joyful experience for us is to see the truly believable character of young Liu, who must decide his way of life between the two cultures. His character and the performance of Xia Yu well deserve the name of "Shadow Magic."