By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
The GenerationThe GenerationThe Generation
  • USA
    USA
    Show More
    Top News
    We appreciate a bolstered Bangladesh-US bilateral relations
    July 4, 2024
    US Continues to Deny Weapons Delay to Israel after Netanyahu Doubles D own
    July 11, 2024
    Biden Says JD Vance is ‘A Clone of Trump’
    August 8, 2024
    Latest News
    Tesla Shares Sink After Trump-Musk Feud Reignites
    July 5, 2025
    The Fourth of July: The Meaning and Promise of Freedom
    July 4, 2025
    House Passes Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ After All-Night Debate
    July 3, 2025
    Trump Targets Musk and Zohran: How Real Is the Threat to Their U.S. Citizenship?
    July 3, 2025
  • New York
    New York
    Show More
    Top News
    Bangladeshi Actor achieve international in US
    October 26, 2023
    NY District Cancels Classes After Multiple Fights Break out at Same Time at High School
    November 24, 2023
    Winter Weather Arrives As NYC Migrant Crisis Worsens
    December 20, 2023
    Latest News
    For many South Asian and Muslim New Yorkers, Zohran Mamdani’s Political Upset Gives them hope
    July 5, 2025
    Mamdani Emerges as NYC Mayoral Front-Runner — Poll Shows Socialist Beating Cuomo, Adams, and Sliwa
    July 4, 2025
    Kathy Hochul’s Re-election Prospects Clouded by Voter Uncertainty and Republican Challenges
    July 2, 2025
    Mamdani Responds to Trump’s Deportation Threat: “We Won’t Accept This Intimidation”
    July 2, 2025
  • Politics
    Politics
    Show More
    Top News
    Joe Biden Plans To Ban Logging In US Old-growth Forests In 2025
    December 26, 2023
    Donald Trump Ranked As Worst US President In History, With Joe Biden 14th
    February 29, 2024
    Lawmakers Say They Should Analyze Protests Response
    May 31, 2024
    Latest News
    Federal Judge Blocks Bass Layoffs and Reorganization Plans at HHS
    July 5, 2025
    Limited Damage to Iran Nuke Sites: Early US Intel
    July 5, 2025
    Trump Judge Nominee told DOJ Lawyers to Ignore Court Orders on Deportations: Whistleblower
    July 5, 2025
    Trump to Congress: ‘NO ONE GOES ON VACATION’ until spending bill passes
    July 5, 2025
  • World
    World
    Show More
    Top News
    400 Bangladeshis at Risk in Tehran
    July 4, 2025
    Arab League slams Israel siege of Gaza, demands aid for Gazans
    October 12, 2023
    Bangladesh hands over humanitarian aid to Palestine
    October 31, 2023
    Latest News
    Murder or Mystery? Monir Mia Found Dead, Police Silent
    July 3, 2025
    Iran’s Nuke Site Shows Activity After US Bombing
    July 5, 2025
    Qatar Proposes 60-Day Gaza Ceasefire, Hostage Swap: Israeli Media
    July 5, 2025
    G7 Urges Talks To Resume For Deal On Iran Nuclear Programme
    July 5, 2025
  • Finance & Business
    Finance & Business
    Show More
    Top News
    How Banks And The Fed Are Preparing For A US Default – And Chaos To Follow
    September 3, 2023
    Corporate Greed is not to Blame for High Inflation, SF Fed Says
    June 16, 2024
    Latest News
    Corporate Greed is not to Blame for High Inflation, SF Fed Says
    June 16, 2024
    How Banks And The Fed Are Preparing For A US Default – And Chaos To Follow
    September 3, 2023
  • EpaperNew
Search
  • About Us
  • Our Awards
  • My Bookmarks
  • Opinion
  • Crime
  • Science & Technology
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • Economy
  • Fashion
  • Election
  • Feature
  • Charity
  • Literature
  • Security
  • US & Canada
  • Nature
  • Cooking
Copyright @2023 – All Right Reserved by The Generation.
Reading: My Heavenly City: Fresh, Thoughtful Takes On Immigrant Experience
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Font ResizerAa
The GenerationThe Generation
  • USA
  • New York
  • Politics
  • World
  • EpaperNew
Search
  • Crime
  • Economy
  • Election
  • Entertainment
  • Opinion
  • US & Canada
  • Finance & Business
  • Charity
  • Cooking
  • Fashion
  • Feature
  • Literature
  • Nature
  • Science & Technology
  • Security
  • Sports
Follow US
  • About Us
  • My Bookmarks
Copyright @2023 – All Right Reserved by The Generation.
Life after breakup … Vivian Sung as Mavis Fang in My Heavenly City.
Entertainment

My Heavenly City: Fresh, Thoughtful Takes On Immigrant Experience

Published November 8, 2023
Share
4 Min Read
SHARE

Cinema Review

By Leslie Felperin

To paraphrase a classic American crime film (and TV show), there are eight million stories in My Heavenly City, and this affecting film focuses on just a few of them. Director Sen-I Yu, has made a few shorts already but this is her first feature, and in some ways this plays like three short films loosely woven together. Still, all the components are strong and aesthetically cohesive, if verging on the sentimental. Each story revolves around immigrants, most of whom are originally from Taiwan, like the director herself. They are living in New York and dealing with the loneliness, stress and anxiety caused by the city itself as well as feelings prompted either by their estrangement from their families – or, as in the last story, proximity to family who moved to the city with them.

In the first chapter, 15th Street, depressed student Mavis Fang is struggling to get over a recent breakup and complete her dissertation on immigration. In the opening scene, she gets a call from the father of a little boy she was just about to start tutoring in Mandarin, but learns that the lessons will have to be postponed for an indeterminate time.
In need of an income, Mavis gets a job translating between Mandarin and English for an agency that dispatches her to take depositions from victims of accidents and crimes as well as to social work situations. At a facility for young people, she manages to kindle rapport with a teenage boy from the People’s Republic, Xiao Jian (Ming Wu), who entered the US illegally and is likely to get sent back, and the experience changes her perspective.

The next story, Jack & Lulu, is a romantic anecdote about the titular characters, played by Keung To and Jessica Lee, who are drawn together by their mutual fascination with New York’s pop and lock hip-hop dancers. The chemistry between the leads is palpable, but the story is just a smidge too twee in places, bringing to mind not so much the kind of great cinematic love story that Eric Rohmer and others once made, as the thin plots encountered in music videos.

The last entry, Kite, is by far the strongest, possibly because it dares to get a bit dark. Married Taiwanese couple Jason (Chun-Yao Yao) and Claire (Mandy Wei) look on the surface to be a first-generation success story, with their roomy Brooklyn brownstone decorated in tasteful neutrals and a seven-year-old son, Jasper (Logan Cheng). But Jasper, diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome and “manic disorder”, is a violent, uncontrollable kid who beats Claire up so badly when she refuses to give him a computer game that the police are called and he’s taken into care. Via scenes in therapists’ offices we come to understand the underlying pressures on both the marriage and the parenting of Jasper, which is not made any easier by Jason’s traditionalist parents who live nearby and insist that Jasper is “spoilt”.

As with the first segment, there is a refreshing sympathy here for the hard work done by social services, who are too often portrayed as villains when they’re just trying to do the best for their clients. If these stories are ultimately tied up a little too neatly, that’s a forgivable flaw in a work that, as a whole, offers a fresh, thoughtful perspective on the multicultural life of the city at its centre.

Source: The Gurdian

You Might Also Like

Tom Cruise And Brad Pitt Reunite At ‘F1’ Premiere After Decades

JK Rowling Confirms Close Involvement with HBO’s ‘Harry Potter’ Series

Glenn Close joins star-studded cast of ‘The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping’

Main Doctor Charged in Actor Matthew Perry Overdose to Plead Guilty

Jackie Chan, Ralph Macchio Join Martial Arts Forces in ‘Karate Kid: Legends’

Sign Up For Daily Newsletter

Be keep up! Get the latest breaking news delivered straight to your inbox.
By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe at any time.
Share This Article
Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Whatsapp Copy Link Print
Previous Article On Remembering Edward Said
Next Article Why November 5th, so important in Back to the Future?

Stay Connected

1.2kFollowersLike
13kFollowersFollow
1.2kFollowersFollow
1.4kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

For many South Asian and Muslim New Yorkers, Zohran Mamdani’s Political Upset Gives them hope
New York July 5, 2025
We Must Not Forget: The Tragedy of Holey Artisan
Opinion July 5, 2025
It’s Not About Faith—It’s About Division: The Politics Behind India’s Conversion Debate
Opinion July 5, 2025
Here’s What The Democrats Can Learn From Zohran Mamdani
Editorial July 5, 2025
Tesla Shares Sink After Trump-Musk Feud Reignites
USA July 5, 2025

Quick links

  • About Us
  • Our Awards
  • My Bookmarks

Sign Up for Our Newsletter

Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!

Editor
Sadia J. Choudhury
Executive Editor
Shah J. Choudhury, Mubin Khan & Salman J. Choudhury
Member of Editor’s Board
Husneara Choudhury, Fauzia J. Choudhury, Santa Islam & DevRaj A. Nath.

A Ruposhi Bangla Entertainment Network

By

Office Address
New York Office:
70-52 Broadway 1A, Jackson Heights, NY-11372, United States.
Contact
Tel: +1 (718) 496-5000
Email: info@thegenerationus.com
newsthegeneration@gmail.com
The GenerationThe Generation
Follow US
Copyright @2023 – All Right Reserved by The Generation.