Li Yusheng

Set at the turn-of-the-century in China and based on a true story, Shadow Magic focuses on Englishman Raymond Wallace - who sets up the first "movie" theater in China in the hopes of returning to Britian with a great fortune - and Chinese photographer Liu, whose involvement with Wallace (symbol of Western encroachment) arouses much disapproval in China.

Young urbanite, Haofeng, a charming tour guide, Nana, and a personable but frustrated restaurant worker, Xiao, all bond quickly over a drunken weekend in the cold wintry Yanji, a city on China's northern border. Confronting their individual traumas, their frozen desires slowly thaw as they seek to liberate themselves from an icy world.