Montreal, My Beautiful is a Canadian drama written and directed by Xiaodan He. It’s her second feature after A Touch of Spring, and it stars the iconic Joan Chen as a 53-year-old Chinese immigrant and mother named Feng Xia who lives in Montreal with her husband and two kids. After living a loveless marriage her whole life, she later meets a young, bold woman named Camille (Charlotte Aubin), and they both help each other discover a sense of liberation through their relationship. It is a tremendously profound and beautiful Asian diasporic film, as the industry needs more intercultural love stories that will forever change the world.
Montreal is, in and of itself, an important character. This city is known to be quite diverse in terms of ethnicities, which is ideal for this unique premise. Since Quebec has a different lifestyle compared to other provinces, it certainly adds a lot more to the immigrant experience, particularly the language. The Chinese culture is also magnificently showcased through Feng’s family, while still making it universally relatable for the audience.
A story that needs to be told. At this point, most people know Joan Chen is an incredible actress, especially if you’ve seen her in other films such as The Last Emperor, Saving Face, and Dìdi. Montreal, My Beautiful has definitely proven to be an interesting challenge, since it requires her to learn French for the role. She is someone who’s willing to take risks in her career, which is very inspiring and admirable. Her performance gives so much depth and layers to her character, and you are emotionally invested in her personal journey of self-realization and identity. Xiaodan’s screenplay makes sure Feng has character development from beginning to end. Her chemistry with Aubin is also explored in a deeply poignant way, because you really do care about their bond with one another. The more you think about the struggles our lead protagonist is going through, the more you realize this is truly an Asian diasporic story that needs to be told. The themes are brilliantly depicted through nuance, as you’re connecting with her complexities as an immigrant wanting to find true purpose and desire. You wish you could get to see more of her family members on screen, especially her husband, but the ending does turn into an emotionally gripping finale that heavily affects their lives.
Montreal, My Beautiful is a wonderful staple in both Asian-Canadian and queer cinema. In time, this will be remembered as an important film proving why diversity and representation are important aspects for storytelling. Chen once again proves why she’s an absolute legend in acting, and the director Xiaodan He has genuinely made something very special. She is a remarkably gifted filmmaker with compelling, sincere, and heartfelt stories that will strongly influence the Asian diaspora. There’s a lot to love here.
In theaters now (Canada).