Directed by Stanley Kwan • 1989 • Hong Kong
Starring Maggie Cheung, Sylvia Chang, Siqin Gaowa
Hong Kong New Wave auteur Stanley Kwan takes his abiding interest in the experiences, struggles, and inner lives of women to New York City in this rich portrait of female friendship among three immigrants. Hong Kong native Lee Fung-jiau (Maggie Cheung) has found financial security running a restaurant in New York but keeps her lesbian sexuality hidden. Wang Hsiung-ping (Sylvia Chang) was an actress in Taiwan, but now struggles to find her place in a new city. And Zhaohong (Siqin Gaowa), from mainland China, attempts to adjust to married life with a man she hardly knows. Despite their divergent backgrounds, the three find common ground and connection as they forge new lives in New York’s immigrant diaspora.