Xiao Jiang's Electric Shadows gives new definition to the concept of “meeting cute”—in this case, after deliveryman Dabing crashes his bicycle and is subsequently clobbered by the brick-swinging Ling Ling, both wind up in the same hospital (he's in the emergency room, she's in the psychiatric ward). Once there, Dabing confronts Ling Ling, she gives him the keys to her apartment (which turns out to be a shrine to Chinese movies), with the request that he feed her pet fish). Dabing also discovers Ling Ling's diary, launching an extended flashback of Ling Ling's over-the-top life story involving abandonment by her father, childhood disappointments (she is passed over for admission to a performing arts school in favor of her stepbrother), and a rabid obsession with all things celluloid. And, yes, the chance meeting between Dabing and Ling Ling isn't a mere coincidence—as he finds himself in Ling Ling's convoluted memoir. Despite the overstuffed story, the film unfolds in a fairly sedate manner that ultimately creates a somewhat schizophrenic personality: on the one hand, we have the Chinese equivalent of a Douglas Sirk-worthy melodrama with every extreme plot twist imaginable, but on the other, it's all too polite and sweet—resulting in a film that feels like it's on a low-heat setting where everything simmers but never boils. Not recommended. (P. Hall)
Electric Shadows
First Run, 95 min., in Mandarin w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: $29.95 Volume 21, Issue 5
Electric Shadows
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