| A surprisingly beautiful and charming gem of a movie about why and how the women in this film uplift themselves doing something unexpected: belly dancing. The main characters are presented with very unglamorous lives: one collects trash pushing around a wicker basket on a flat bed cart, one is a butcher in a harried, outdoor market who discovers her husband’s infidelity, one is a bored, unappreciated homemaker to her ungrateful husband and son, and one is a seemingly superficial, flighty, and irresponsible single mom.
These women aren’t perfect people in unfortunate situations—some are jealous, suspicious, insecure, and they act upon those feelings—but they know they are not happy. They can feel their personalities slowly being squashed deep down inside, layered over by the hounding reality that everyone else matters first.
As this reality builds in intensity, it becomes more and more appealing to do something different, sexy, unexpected, all the polar opposites of their lives. A belly dancing class presents itself and the women, although reluctant at first, become overwhelmed by their own needs and participate in something that brings them attention and tells people they still have their personalities, damn it.
I know, I know… it all sounds so cliché, even to me as I write this. The bumps along the way and the ending aren’t total surprises. But despite these things, the depth of the emotional ride the characters go on project a certain realness I very, very rarely find in HK dramas, and definitely stands out as one of the best dramas I have seen in recent memory.
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