by Charles Kirkland, Jr.
Anchored by Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’s Chang Chen, Korean Canadian writer-director Lloyd Lee Choi’s riveting feature debut captures the hardships faced by thousands of working-class immigrants by focusing on 48 nerve-wracking hours in the life of a single desperate man in Lucky Lu.
New York food delivery driver Lu has been in the United States for five years, holding onto his dream of running a restaurant while doing whatever it takes to get by. As Lucky Lu begins, he has just placed the down payment and first month’s rent on his first apartment, a sparsely furnished one-bedroom with a single window that lets in morning light when it bounces off the neighboring building. He secures the quarters just in time, as his wife and daughter are on their way from China to join him.
But the fragile foundation he’s built soon begins to crumble. After a particularly chaotic delivery, Lu returns to find his bike, the lifeline of his livelihood, stolen. With only the lock left behind, this loss triggers a devastating downward spiral. As he scrambles to recover in time to welcome his family, he realizes that the safety net he thought existed in his community, aid, and friendships, is threadbare or gone entirely.
Starring Chang Chen (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), Fala Chen (Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings, Ballad of a Small Player), and newcomer Carabelle Manna Wei, Lucky Lu offers a snapshot of the hardships and raw struggles faced by the immigrant community in the United States. The film marks the feature debut of writer-director Lloyd Lee Choi.
While its setup may echo Milad Tangshir’s Anywhere Anytime, which also centers on bike delivery workers whose stolen bikes upend their lives, Lucky Lu elevates the stakes. Lu’s loss isn’t just financial; it threatens the very future of his family. As doors close and options vanish, he reaches out to old friends and fellow immigrants. But like him, they are burdened by their own battles, barely surviving within a system built to exclude them.
Lucky Lu is not only about struggle but about redefining success. It shows how small acts an unexpected gift, a shared meal, or a child’s gaze become monumental in moments of crisis. It is a story of dignity and the quiet power of resilience.
Fueled by the intense and frenetic performance of Chang Chen, contrasted with the natural, intuitive warmth of Carabelle Manna Wei, Choi crafts a film that is as intimate as it is expansive. It offers a deeply empathetic portrayal of survival in modern America. Lucky Lu doesn’t simply tell a story; it honors a community too often overlooked, capturing the bonds that form in hardship and the grace that can emerge in the unlikeliest places. It is a metaphor common across immigrant communities, especially today.
Grade: B