Electric Shadows
When a troubled young woman strikes a bicycle delivery boy named Mao with a brick, this violent chance encounter sets in motion Mao's discovery of a long-lost childhood friend and their lost innocence. Mao discovers the young woman's diary, which describes how all the crucial moments of her life have been bound up in movies: She was born at a movie screening, became best friends with a boy at another, and experiences a terrible trauma at another--all of which has led her to a strange secret life that Mao realizes he can set right.Electric Shadowsdepends upon an improbable coincidence, yet the compelling story lures you to accept it.  Movies about a cinema-crazed childhood are prone to be a little sappy, butElectric Shadowspresents a multilayered vision of the pain, delight, and chaotic confusion of childhood; the combination achieves a rare and compelling balance, building to a sweet conclusion that's been richly earned. Though it's been compared to the sentimental favoriteCinema Paradiso,Electric Shadows--the debut feature of director Xiao Jiang--has more in common with the honesty and directness of another debut feature, Francois Truffaut'sThe 400 Blows.--Bret Fetzer