Camille (writer/director
Yan Cui) and Jessie (Diana Peng Tan) arrive in Toronto from China on the same
flight, both immigrants looking for a better life in Canada. Strangers, their
lives take different turns, but they both find themselves using and being used
by men for sex, money and social position. Camille's Chinese husband dies,
and she marries a "round eye" to get her green card with a plan to bring
her son and parents to live with her. Her new husband isn't an innocent himself,
as he strikes a business deal with her connections in China. A doctor, Camille's
dream is to open a health center and sell Chinese herbs. Jessie is a dancer,
but without money, she must sleep with various men to survive and keep attending
her English language classes. One of the men is more manipulative than she is
though, and she is stuck as the mistress of an older but rich Chinese restaurant
owner. Just when Jessie would rather die than continue life as she knows
it, it's Camille who comes to her aid. Both weary of what they've been through
with the men in their lives, the two women find love in each other's arms. Lest
you think that this is a lesbian romance, this literally occurs with less than
two minutes left in the film. After sitting through this very slow paced drama,
it's too little too late. |