Feng Xia (Joan Chen), a Chinese-Quebecois mother, needs her daughter Joy (Pei Yao Xu) to translate for her. But mostly, she helps her children, like telling her son Dong Dong (Anzhe Angelo Zhang) to go play. Now that Dong Dong is out, she returns to her laptop, specifically to a dating site for queer women. There, she meets Lisa / Camille (Charlotte Aubin), and they start a relationship. That relationship is one more thing on Feng Xia’s plate, so much so that her husband Wang Jun (John Xu) is noticing her absence. Wang Jun, hard as he tries, doesn’t stop Feng Xia from exploring an identity that’s always been within.

Montreal, My Beautiful, from director and writer Xiaodan He, builds several worlds within the titular city in Quebec. There are some moments here showing Camille’s perspective, like taking Feng Xia’s calls. Or still being friends with Alice (Émilie Leclerc Côté) despite seeing Feng Xia. It juxtaposes those moments, though, with sharp edits to show Feng Xia’s life as a mother, comprising most of the film. For example, Feng Xia teaches the Chinese language to Dong Dong before coming over to Camille’s apartment. It stresses, beautifully, this proximity, of some people fitting in in certain places yet wanting other lives.

Filming interior spaces, the camerawork hintings at the fork on the road in front of its protagonist. Maybe I’m being selective that it starts with its share of Feng Xia at first with many close-ups. Montreal, My Beautiful eventually has her full body, indicating that she’s shrinking or moving further away from view. Regardless of how one interprets these visuals, the focus on interior spaces is pretty interesting to me personally. Because eventually, Feng Xia opens a door to a city that helps her finally explore her true self.

Feng Xia’s self exploration is compelling in Montreal, My Beautiful thanks to Joan Chen’s performance. Through Chen, viewers can see Feng Xia’s patience as a mother to two children born from her duty. She even makes a magical experience out of opening doors into darkness and exploring Montreal. Of course, a film like this explores sexual acts and both He’s writing and Chen’s performance depicts them honestly. Feng Xia is a character who, like immigrant queer people in real life, need guidance and the film captures that well.

A film where a city is a prominent supporting character, Montreal, My Beautiful still has a cottage scene. Yes, I’m bringing this up even if this may lead to a Heated Rivalry rabbit hole (ha ha). I mean, Canadian media is inherently cottage core, regardless of the film’s genre and its characters’ sexual orientation. This third act shows the kind of life Feng Xia and Camille can live, one outside of their stifling environments. Despite Feng Xia’s belief of her life having no choices, that she has some and her life is flexible enough.

Canadian cinephiles can watch Montreal, My Beautiful in select Canadian theatres.