Despite being the first ever film directed by Xiao Jiang, "Electric Shadows" manages to be an amazing debut for a first time director. The 2005 film is a stellar feature with eye catching cinematography and an engaging cast of characters. However, the strongest part of this motion picture happens to be the unique storytelling method that immediately immerses the viewer into its crafted world.
A water delivery boy, Mao Xiaobing, inadvertently collides into a deaf girl, Ling Ling, who attacks him in retaliation, is arrested, and is put in a mental institution. She then leaves a note for the delivery boy to feed her fish. When he arrives to her place, he uncovers her living quarters full of cinematic memorabilia and upon snooping around, the delivery boy finds the girl’s personal diary. In it, Ling Ling goes over her childhood which heavily involved film due to her parents’ involvement in it. She then befriended a boy, Mao, and both became inseparable friends. However, when he abruptly left and when her younger brother, Bing Bing, is born, Ling Ling became dissatisfied with her life. Later, during a rooftop viewing of a movie with her brother, Bing Bing accidentally fell to his death. Her stepfather confronts the grief stricken sister and strikes her, causing her to run away from home.
Mao, upon further investigation of the apartment, finds that Ling Ling settled on a place where she could watch her parents from afar. The delivery boy visits the parents and explains their daughter’s situation. They then agreed to bring a special movie screening to the mental institution where Ling Ling was as a special reunion with her childhood and family.
The movie was a good mixture of endearing and tragic moments. While the storytelling method was very jagged, jumping from flashback to current time, the heartbreak and triumph of Ling Ling’s life and her attempt to make up for past mistakes grabs the sympathy of the viewer from the start. The acting from both the adult and child versions of Ling Ling and Mao were stellar. Whether it was the writing or the actors themselves that made the characters personable,
"Electric Shadows" benefits greatly from those performances.
The film succeeds at effectively using the flashback as its primary narrative method. With the technique in place, the story begins in medias res (in the middle of things) and we are immediately introduced to Mao who would appear to be the primary protagonist. As the story plays out and as flashbacks occur, he transitions into a secondary role and Ling Ling then becomes the main character of the story.
To the viewers, the gradual change of protagonists appears confusing and leaves them with many questions. However, the flashback serves as the response to any inquiry as to why Ling Ling is now in the leading role. Her story and motivations are told entirely through this narration device and by doing so, the viewer can instantly recognize the connection of how the narrative of the past relates to that of the present.
