In this Valentine to discovering love later in life, the ever elegant Joan Chen plays Feng Xia, a 53-year-old Chinese immigrant and mother living in Montreal, who has spent her life shaped by duty — to her family, her culture, and a marriage that has long since gone stale. But when she meets Camille, a spirited young Québécoise (Charlotte Aubin), her desire cannot be denied. In the balmy and joyful Montreal summer, Feng Xia takes the radical step of choosing herself — embarking on a journey of forbidden love and long-overdue self-discovery. Her awakening becomes a profound reckoning with identity, exile, and the steep cost of liberation.
Montreal, My Beautiful contains an intricacy that reflects the complexity of a life lived […] Chen masterfully delivers every layer and nuance.
Rachel Ho, exclaim!
A radiant, fiercely passionate ode to the notion that it is never too late to reclaim one’s own destiny… a profoundly moving and intensely sensual story of midlife awakening, cultural negotiation, and forbidden love.
LGBT Daily
Deeply moving… an important milestone in Asian diaspora queer cinema.
Mike Cohen, The Suburban
Xiaodan He
Joan Chen, Charlotte Aubin, John Xu, Emilie L. Cote
Canada
2025
In French and Mandarin with English subtitles
Best Film, Windsor International Film Festival
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