Lost in Beijing

Lost in Beijing is a 2007 Chinese drama film directed by Li Yu and starring Tony Leung Ka-fai, Fan Bingbing, Tong Dawei, and Elaine Jin. It had its international premiere at the 2007 Berlin International Film Festival on February 16, 2007. Lost in Beijing is director Li Yu's third feature film after the lesbian-themed Fish and Elephant (2002) and the drama Dam Street (2005). Lost in Beijing was produced by Laurel Films, a small independent production company owned by Fang Li and based in Beijing, and is being released internationally by the French company Films Distribution. Distribution in the United States was picked up by New Yorker Films. Like many films that touch on the underbelly of Chinese society (see for example, Li Yang's Blind Shaft or Blind Mountain, or Wang Xiaoshuai's Beijing Bicycle), Li Yu's tale of prostitution, blackmail, and rape in modern-day Beijing has been plagued with censorship problems. After nearly a year of delays, the film was finally banned by Chinese authorities in January 2008. Plot Liu Pingguo (Fan Bingbing) and her husband, An Kun (Tong Dawei) are a young migrant couple from northeast of China who have moved to Beijing for a better life. Pingguo and An Kun live in a dilapidated apartment eking out their existence working menial jobs. An Kun works as a window washer, while his wife works in the Golden Basin Massage Parlor as a foot masseuse. Golden Basin is owned and operated by Lin Dong (Tony Leung Ka-fai), a successful businessman and unabashed womanizer who is also from Guangdong Province. His wife, Wang Mei (Elaine Jin) practices Chinese medicine, but is unable to have children due to infertility.