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Lulu Wang Maps Out Her Cinematic Journey to Expats
The writer-director breaks down ten films that informed the miniseries’ themes around privilege, grief, motherhood, and more.
Starring Nicole Kidman, Sarayu Blue, and Ji-young Yoo as, respectively, the grief-stricken Margaret, the successful yet frustrated Hilary, and the guilt-ridden Mercy — three complicated expatriates living in different social realities in Hong Kong — Expats follows their individual tales as the trio’s fates collide through an unspeakable tragedy, gradually widening its lens across the city’s diverse corners. Within that expansion, two things remain constant throughout Expats: Wang’s uncompromising commitment to maintaining her characters’ thorny qualities, and a deeply cinematic demeanor that’s achieved through long takes, thoughtful reflections, gleaming nighttime shots, and an assured handle on the passage of time. In crafting the duo’s respective journeys, Joanna Bowers’s documentary — about Hong Kong’s live-in housekeepers employed by the city’s richest families — was instrumental for the writers’ detailed understanding of these domestic-worker communities, with their Sunday picnics, diverse artistic talents, and daily hardships.
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