This film is one hell of a sumptuous visual feast. The animated photographs are wondrous, seeming to bring Long Tack Sam and kin back to life. The multiple "origin" comics are lush with color. Both merge seamlessly with candid interviews and found(?) footage. I cannot rhapsodize enough about the aesthetics and style. Kudos to Ann Marie Fleming for this biographical masterpiece on her great-grandfather.<br /><br />The storyline is equally compelling. The scenic shifts from place to place, country to country, allow Fleming to uncover new facts about the acrobat/ magician's life, and cleverly parallel Sam's own perigrinations. Globetrotters, par excellance, the travels of Sam and Fleming provide effective narrative ballast, and in particular, Fleming's adept narration carefully focuses our attention, so that we feel privy to the historical events Sam lived through during the early and mid 20th century.<br /><br />The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam is in every sense a celebration of an almost forgotten man, who perhaps until now, never got his proper due. And it pays homage not just to the remarkable Sam, but to other members of his family as well (especially his daughter Mina, Fleming's grandmother). With its grea t style and storytelling, this is a film to be seen again and again.<br /><br />