Electric Shadows (2004)
"Meng ying tong nian" (original title)

For no apparent reason, a mute young woman assaults a youth who delivers water on his bicycle, injuring him and ruining his bike. Surprisingly, she asks him to feed her fish while she is in... See full summary »

Director:

Jiang Xiao

Writers:

Qingsong Cheng, Jiang Xiao

Stars:

Yu Xia, Haibin Li, Yijing Zhang

3 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Yu Xia	...	Mao Dabing
Haibin Li	...	Pan Daren
Yijing Zhang	...	Ling Ling as a Teenager
Zhongyang Qi	...	Ling Ling as a Young Woman
Zhengjia Wang	...	Mao Xiaobing
Haogi Zhang	...	Bing Bing
Yuquing Xia	...	Xiaobing's Father
Shan Jiang	...	Policewoman
Zhenhua	...	Doctor Niu
Yang Liu	...	Middle-Aged Woman
Jinbao Zhao	...	Teacher
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Xiaotong Guan
Yihong Jiang	...	Jiang Xuehua

Storyline

For no apparent reason, a mute young woman assaults a youth who delivers water on his bicycle, injuring him and ruining his bike. Surprisingly, she asks him to feed her fish while she is in custody. Her tiny apartment, he discovers, is a shrine to his favorite escape, the movies. He finds her diary - a screenplay of her life built around scenes from favorite films - and it sets off his imagination. Maybe they have more in common than a love of the movies.

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Plot Keywords:

youth | bicycle | hospital | premature birth | talk of the town | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

China

Language:

Mandarin

Release Date:

7 April 2005 (Netherlands)

Also Known As:

Electric Shadows

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$2,956 (Hong Kong) (3 February 2006)

Gross:

$7,129 (USA) (23 June 2006)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Beijing Dadi Century Limited, Happy Pictures Culture Communication Co. Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Goofs

Lingling was locked inside the house because her mother wanted her to stay at home and study. She was in her bed looking at a picture, in the first shot, you can see the word "China" on her pillow. When the camera switched the position, the word "china" disappeared on her pillow. She clearly moved her position even though she was supposed to be in the same spot.

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Connections

Features Xiao hua (1980)

User Reviews

Amazing little film about growing up.

Maybe it was because I was on a flight from Beijing where I fell in love with the country and the city, or maybe because I compared it to the other Chinese film they showed on the plane (it was horrible). Anyway, I loved this movie. In contrast to most American movies I too often see, this film had a story that captured you from the start, and never let you go. Add to this clever kid actors performing and acting their age (unlike 30-year old Dakotas or Haley Joels), and otherwise good performing all the way. No explosions, car chases or guns being fired, but more capturing and exciting than most films containing those types of elements. I can't wait until I get to see the next movie with this director, these actors or actually anything with anyone involved in the making of if this movie. Did I mention that the photography/scenery is stunning?