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Shadow Magic
EMAILPRINTSony Pictures Classics

Generally favorable reviews
Based on 22 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 4 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Drama
Written by: Ann Hu
Directed by: Ann Hu
Release Date:
Theatrical: April 6, 2001
DVD: September 11, 2001
Running Time: 112 minutes, Color
Origin:
Language(s): Chinese (with English subtitles) with some English
Summary
RATING: PG for brief mild language
Starring Jared Harris, Xia Yu, Lu Peiqi, Lu Liping, Xing Xufei, and Wang Jingming
Set in 1902, this comedy centers around the arrival of a Westerner who introduces silent films to Imperial Peking.
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Washington Post Stephen Hunter
Sumptuous, warm, continually amazing, it's a completely enjoyable couple of hours at the flickers.
Read Full Review >Miami Herald Curtis Morgan
Rising above simple sentiment to explore class differences and the enduring clash between East and West with wit and wisdom.
Portland Oregonian Barry Johnson
The re-creation of early 20th-century Beijing is dense and loving, and Hu shows just as much affection for the people who start to trickle into the shabby little cinema.
Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan
It's a film about culture clash, the generation gap and the loss of tradition that inevitably accompanies the arrival of anything new.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Jay Carr
Shadow Magic isn't interested in psychology or character study. It's a series of tableaux and on that level succeeds admirably.
Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold
Never quite builds the compulsive emotional power it needs to be an unforgettable personal drama.
Read Full Review >Philadelphia Inquirer Desmond Ryan
Transports us to a world that still had a capacity for awe, and that's the core of its charm.
Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas
Evokes the dawn of cinema in China with much charm, humor and subtlety.
Read Full Review >Mr. Showbiz Kevin Maynard
Plays like a Chinese "Cinema Paradiso," full of feeling without succumbing to sentimentality.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten
The most delightful segments are those which observe new audiences experiencing the motion picture phenomenon.
Read Full Review >USA Today Mike Clark
The story doesn't exactly startle with surprises and has a tendency to hammer and rehammer its points.
Read Full Review >New York Post Jonathan Foreman
Often charming and sweet, and always prettily photographed.
TV Guide Ken Fox
Unfortunately, Hu and her army of co-writers saddle the story with a tired romantic subplot and fail to develop meaningful characters.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Amy Taubin
Properly picturesque but lacks subtlety and substance in blending Chinese and Western history, ideas, and cinematic conventions.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
The movie is more concerned with the story line (premiere-fire-threat-rescue) than with painting the time and place.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 6.5 (out of 10) based on 4 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Antal Z. gave it a9:
Simple story has drama and humor in equal doses. Beautifully photographed and well acted. All in all, it's a charming little movie that provides (almost) two hours of first class entertainment.
Chad S. gave it a 7:
"Shadow Magic" could've been overblown, a movie, in which the Beijing opera players and still photographers, set out to destroy the westerner's movie equipment as a way of preserving their respective livelihoods. Since Chinese film has such a rich history, the right choice is made to show the advent of film exhibitionism as a cause for celebration, but the acceptance of Shadow Magic should've been preceded by a little more resistance. In particular, Ling (Xing Yufei), the daughter of a great opera star, who sells out her father by romancing Liu (Xia Yu), a boy who loves new inventions more than old traditions. You have to accept the film's license to be nostalgic, as it wants us to believe that a foreigner like Raymond (Jared Harris) wouldn't be more aggressive about amassing a fortune. But "Shadow Magic" works if you like movie history, because the first-hand accounts of how patrons reacted to this new entertainment comes alive on the screen as it's described in books.
Victor Y. gave it a 10:
Accurate, believable, and interesting.
