This drama from Ximan Li teases time in telling the stories of three Chinese women living in a city that tempts promise but delivers frustration.
The promising first-time feature filmmaker Ximan Li embraces the twists of immigrant experiences in the drama “In a New York Minute.” Based on a short story by Yi Nan that Li adapted, the director braids the saga of three women living in New York City. While their situations are very different, the malaise dogging each of them overlaps. Visual intersectional hints and an errant at-home pregnancy test link the women in ways intriguing if occasionally, forced.
The food writer Amy Chen (Amy Chang) continues to suffer a violent reaction to meals a year after a breakup. Her co-worker Peter (Jae Shin) plies her with eats and her mother (Cheng Pei Pei) pesters her about marriage. A blink-and-you-might-miss-it mention of Amy’s former “roommate” seems a little coy for this day and age but also may explain why the foodie’s story feels undercooked.
The actress Angel Li (Yi Liu) can’t seem to get a break, even as the career of the writer (Ludi Lin) she is having an affair with is on the rise. Nina (a charismatic Celia Au) returns from her nighttime gig at a karaoke lounge — where customers retreat to private rooms for singing and more transactional pleasures — with designer bags and cash. She stashes them in her bedroom above the family restaurant in a move toward independence. At the same time, a food truck cook (Roger Yeh) courts Nina with a gentle clarity that confuses her.
One character sums up the movie’s underlying quandary: “Which would you choose, love or freedom?” Time will tell whether this is the right question, or one based on a wrongheaded premise.
In a New York Minute
Not rated. In English and Chinese, with subtitles. Running time: 1 hour 42 minutes. Rent or buy on Apple TV, Amazon and other streaming platforms and pay TV operators.
Source: Movies - nytimes.com
