Bird of Paradise

Mrs. Yeung has spent years holding a Hong Kong household together, managing a checked-out husband, a demanding teenage son, and the thousand thankless tasks that keep a family running. Then she secretly signs up for pole dancing, and something dangerous happens: she starts having fun. What looks like a midlife lark turns shockingly physical, closer to martial arts than play, demanding strength and nerve she didn’t know she had. As the lessons reawaken a self she had quietly shelved, the accommodating wife-and-mother act becomes harder to keep up. Joey Wu’s first feature turns domestic frustration into bright, nimble comedy, handing Catherine Chau a gloriously physical role as a woman who decides that disappearing politely is no longer on the schedule. Veteran Elaine Jin lends major support.

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