In a New York Minute (2022) Film Review
It isn’t hard to understand and accept what Ximan Li attempts to do with In a New York Minute. The film doesn’t try too much to leave its anthology-based pace and actually manages to give closure to three stories that seemed hard to connect and conclude. This makes Li’s filmmaking style an easily digestible one. In a New York Minute varies in its personality, and I can’t seem to grasp if this is a good thing or not. It’s not that the film is bad, it’s just inconsistent enough to make me ask questions.
In a New York Minute tries to tell the story of three young Asian-American women in the Big Apple. Each of them have their own issues, and each of those has a different kind of gravity. There’s an eating disorder, an affair that’s romantic yet inconvenient, and a lifestyle that shocks family values. The three stories become tied by a pregnancy test that falls into the wrong hands. I think.
Do you think it’s improbable? Wait till you see In a New York Minute.
In a New York Minute contains several insights that do well in the story they’re set in, but the film hurries toward its serendipitous conclusion that honestly feels like an unnecessary manipulation of facts. It’s more interesting when the subplots are just mere portions of a huge story but they engage well in a universe that will force them to meet at some point.
It’s what I felt with In a New York Minute. A film that tried too hard to convince me when it actually worked best in its organic, drama-based backbone of Asian culture clashing with a city that’s radically American. There’s no need to complicate plot lines when they’re strong enough to leave an imprint on the viewer who understood everything from the very beginning.
But then again, the connection is automatic. Almost magnetic. These three women facing elements of different nature and weight have decided to stand up to something as oppressing as culture. This is a celebration of values, but not the values you’re thinking about
Perhaps In a New York Minute isn’t the most interesting film it aims to be. But it’s a good business card for a filmmaker who seems capable of telling stories through a human-based channel that’s not very common in indie cinema. In this level, stories are told in a format that doesn’t radically change in every film. In a New York Minute doesn’t look like any other film you’ve seen, and that’s enough to make us turn our heads and wonder what Ximan Li can do next.
