From the press release:
An original screenplay written by Gloria Ui Young Kim, Queen of the Morning Calm follows 29-year-old immigrant sex worker Debra, and her self-aware 10-year-old daughter Mona, as they embark on a journey of emancipation. Debra attempts to escape cycles of abuse and poverty while learning to become a more nurturing mother and discovering her own self-worth.
Hard times fall for Brenda and her 9-year-old daughter Mona in Queen of the Morning Calm.
Looking through leftovers in the fridge and bread she threw out to find items to cook her daughter before school.
Mona goes to a private Christian school, Brenda is a dancer who works in a club, where she also performs sexual acts.
Brenda is not proud of her profession, she is aiming to be a bookkeeper, determined to break away from it and her abusive husband she applies to a company that will help her find a job.
Sarge, Mona's dad has a gambling problem and one night even barter's Mona's birthday gift away so he can keep playing for more.
This follows a lot of the same patterns, for the most part, what sets it apart here is Tina Jung(Kim’s Convenience, Make It Pop) as Brenda--she is stellar in this role. We really feel her struggles to raise her daughter as best as she can, failing as we all do at times she picks the pieces up and tries again.
Newcomer Eponine Lee is also fantastic as Mona, what some might see as a problem child she is just acting out at her mother because her father left--Mona blames Brenda.
The film really transitions into something that is not wrapped up nice and neat and has a ribbon on it for display. Rather we have a slice of life film, that has something to say about empowering ourselves and moving on to better things.
Thank you for reading this
Sincerely
Anthony Nadeau
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