Luck you!
A bit behind, but I've still go a review for you.
Another month comes to an end and I am here to greet you again, my friends. I’m very excited about this February edition—despite it being released after February has ended. I’ve managed to see another film that fits perfectly into my goal. I hope that you don’t mind my tardiness. Thanks for sticking around with me as I grow and try to bring you the best quality newsletter that I can.
The Underdog Edition
This month, I got to see a hidden gem of a movie. I didn’t know about this film until I looked to see what my local theater was playing. It doesn’t seem to have gotten a lot of press, but I can’t imagine why. It’s part of the Cannes Quinzaine from 2025 so it’s got relative recognition, but apart from that I haven’t seen any advertisements. It just goes to show that there are a lot of new releases out there, worth our time, that aren’t getting the marketing they deserve.
And that’s where I come in. I watched the film Lucky Lu, by filmmaker Lloyd Lee Choi. It’s Choi’s first feature length film about a Chinese immigrant working in New York City as a delivery driver, and preparing for the arrival of his wife and daughter from China. This film is not for the weak. It is blow after blow but at the same time incredible to see a reality for many people around the world on screen.
The film’s main character is a man named Lu, who is often a benevolent and hard-working person. However, after we get a glimpse into how his life works, tragedy strikes, and strikes again. Eventually, we get to see the desperate side of Lu, the man who will bargain when there’s no point in bargaining. I found Lu was a very understandable character, despite being very frustrating at moments. And at certain critical moments, his stubbornness does aid him in making things a bit easier.
I know I’ve already expressed this but the film is absolutely brutal. There was one moment where a clearly huge conflict got resolved, only to be followed by a harrowing twist which caused me to audibly gasp. Knowing this, it’s weird for me to say that this film warmed my heart but it did. I feel like having to experience that level of desperation made the sweet moments that much sweeter. Every time we saw Lu’s soft side with his wife or daughter, it painted a very clear picture of who he was. He is not a stubborn monster, who thinks he deserves a certain life, but he’s a loving father who would taint his own life if it meant his family could have a better life.
I fear I am perhaps getting too poetic, but I’m trying to avoid giving too much away about the movie. In an ideal world, you’ll go and watch it!
This film did not spell everything out for the viewers. A lot of films these days almost give us too much information, but this film didn’t painfully recount every detail. For example, there is a side story touched upon between Lu and his brother (and for an even more specific example, I’m not 100 percent sure it’s his actual brother, or just a friend who is almost brother-like.) As the story goes along, we learn that Lu used to own a restaurant, and then that he co-owned it with this brother. We learn quickly that he hasn’t been close with his brother since this happened, but within the film, they seem to patch back together some sort of kinship.
My favorite character in this film was Lu’s daughter, Yaya aka Queenie. Yaya is complex, depicting innocence and a child’s understanding of the adult world. She’s confused when she first sees her father after not seeing him for a few years. She claims that he doesn’t look the way she remembers. But in the matter of an hour, she is obsessed with him and doesn’t want to leave his side, insisting on going to “work” with him. But when his wife and Yaya arrive, Lu has lost almost everything that he had prepared, including money, his job and the apartment. When he returns to work, he is actually returning to try and resolve these issues. While Yaya follows her father throughout the day, she learns how he is in trouble. She tries to steal because she wants to help him, but when he finds out, he makes it very clear that she should never do what she just did and they return the stolen item.
Yaya also introduces the biggest conflict for Lu in the film. He struggles between doing things that are wrong or complicated to physically protect his life and the life of his family. However, with his daughter with him, he’s also trying to protect her mentally. He doesn’t want her to carry any of the mental burden, but puts himself in dangerous situations to be able to protect her.
In terms of storytelling, this film blew me away. However, it was also strong technically. There are numerous shots that make relatively mundane settings look beautiful. In that same scene that Lu is reconciling with his brother, they are standing outside his brother’s nail salon. The salon windows are lined with red neon lights which creates a red frame around the two of them. Another effective shot was the final shot. Lu is sitting at the window in his apartment, waiting for the sun promised to him by the realtor to pass through the window in the morning. His daughter comes out from her room to hug him, and ends up falling back to sleep leaning against him. The sun enters, shining on Lu’s face, and then exits directly after. It feels like the glimmer of hope that Lu holds onto which keeps him afloat through all of his losses.
That being said, this film did not have a literal conclusion to many of the questions it posed. But Lu was able to find a level of peace emotionally, which mirrors the real world experience. Not every problem may get solved, but the only way to move forward is through acceptance.
For anyone interested in the “specs” that I talked about vis-a-vis the films I pick out, here’s a quick rundown:
An original story, written by director Lloyd Lee Choi
The main production company is Hisako Productions, of which this is the only film. (They have a live action Naruto film listed as well which I did not know was happening).
I have never heard of filmmaker Lloyd Lee Choi, which is probably because this was his first feature length film!
I’m very excited to have brought this film to my readers, and I sincerely hope you get a chance to see it. Until next month!