Chinese-born, American-based director Ann Hu debuts with this epic historical drama about the introduction of motion pictures to China during the beginning of the 20th century. The film is based on a true story of Liu Jung (Xia Yu), a Peking photographer who struggles to start a film industry in China in spite of the strong anti-Western sentiment of the time. At the film's outset, Liu Jung is scolded by his autocratic boss Master Ren (Liu Peiqi) for his obsession with Western gizmos after he
brings home a junked Victrola. During a photo session with China's most famous opera star, Lord Tan (Li Yusheng), Liu Jung runs into Raymond Wallace (Jared Harris), a mysterious Brit who is hell-bent on introducing movies (called "shadow magic") to the Emperor. As soon as Liu Jung sees his first frame, he is hooked on the medium and committed to Wallace's scheme. This film was screened at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi
Some of the hostile reactions to Wallace and his movie machine may seem heavy-handed, but the film reminds us that China had been exploited by Western culture, making the opposition a bit more palatable.
In "Shadow Magic," it is Peking in 1902 where Liu(Xia Yu), the chief photographer for a prestigious photo studio, is seeking innovative ways to help, including playing a recording of western classical music during a photo shoot. His boss(Liu Peiqi) thinks he needs to settle down and arranges a marriage between Liu and
the Widow Jiang(Fang Qingxhuo). Fearing a fate worse than death, Liu starts assisting Raymond Wallace(Jared Harris), an Englishman with a new invention called a movie projector. Inspired by a true story, "Shadow Magic" is an interesting and overlong bit of history that is let down by a thin plot. The power of the images speak for themselves as they capture unfamiliar lands and peoples who are thousands of miles away. What the movie is concerned with is the opening of China to new ideas from the West but a hundred years later, there is too much of this, especially Hollywood films that flood the market. At the same time, there are much less Chinese films or other forms of culture flowing back the other way.
November 13, 2007
Walter M.
Super Reviewer
based on true story of film coming to China, this interesting inter-cultural film shows much about how culture affects the world.
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