Set amidst the turmoil of a changing era as China reluctantly welcomes the twentieth century, SHADOW MAGIC, which was "inspired by a true story," is a good-spirited movie written and directed by Ann Hu. A stunningly gorgeous costume drama, the movie suffers from its nearly two hour length and its threadbare scripting. The lushness of Nancy Schreiber's cinematography almost makes up for the thinness of the characterizations. Liu, the central character, has a large, silly grin plastered on his face through most of the movie. When Liu runs into trouble, it's hard to empathize with him since he is such a stick figure. Raymond isn't much better. He's the classic dreamer whose wife left him for another man, which is easy to understand.

What really works in the movie, other than the authentic and nostalgic sets, is the wonderment of seeing a new technology so entrance a populace. The movie effectively reminds us how revolutionary some of today's gadgets were just a century ago. The world changes more rapidly than we would ever believe. "They say the time will come when men will cut off their pigtails and women will unbind their feet," Liu tells his photography studio employer, Master Ren (Lu Liping), who finds it quite hard to believe.

SHADOW MAGIC runs 1:55. The film is in Mandarin with English subtitles and in English. It is rated PG for brief mild language and would be acceptable for kids old enough to read subtitles.