Double happiness

Jade Li is an aspiring actress of Chinese descent living in Canada with her parents and young sister. She suffers under the strict rules of her traditional mother and father, aware of the pain caused them by her estranged brother. Jade has to battle for meagre small parts in theatre and television, frequently turned down for either being too Chinese or not Chinese enough. Jade’s parents frequently set her up on blind dates with eligible Chinese men, assuming she will marry one. Jade however is living a double life - she rebels against the cultural expectations of her family and embarks upon a tentative affair with a Caucasian student, Mark. Caught between her personal desires and her family obligations, Jade has to determine her own sense of identity and fate. “Double happiness” is a film that remarks effectively upon the generation gap and perceptively depicts the struggle of both sides to understand the emotional needs of the other. The film employs an episodic structure and character-to-camera addresses, to create a consistently humorous and engaging narrative. As a drama about a first generation immigrant experience, “Double happiness” never strays into sentimentality or stereotype and remains a sensitive portrayal of a typically complex family. With occasional English subtitles.