China, drama, Huang Jue, Midi Z, movies, reviews, The Unseen Sister, Xin Zhilei, Zhang Fan, Zhao Liying
November 13, 2024
by Carla Hay
Directed by Midi Z
Mandarin with subtitles
Culture Representation: Taking place in China and in Myanmar, the dramatic film “The Unseen Sister” features an all-Asian cast of characters representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.
Culture Clash: The life of a famous actress becomes disrupted when her estranged older sister comes to visit her.
Culture Audience: “The Unseen Sister” will appeal primarily to people fans of filmmaker Midi Z, the movie’s headliners, and dramas about family secrets.
“The Unseen Sister” is a slow-burn psychological drama about a famous actress whose past comes back to haunt her with the arrival of her estranged sister. The movie somewhat stumbles in the last 20 minutes, but the story is intriguing. The movie’s assets outweigh its flaws.
Directed by Midi Z (who co-wrote “The Unseen Sister” screenplay with Yue Xu), “The Unseen Sister” takes place in China and in Myanmar. Qiao Yan (played by Zhao Liying) is a rich and famous actress who is based in Beijing. She is mostly known for her work in television and movies. She is also under pressure to renew a contract that she doesn’t really want to sign.
Yan, whose parents are deceased, is a loner who lives a mostly isolated celebrity life. Yan has a clingy manager named Shen Hao Ming (played by Huang Jue), who is her constant companion. One day, Yan’s older sister (played by Xin Zhilei), who lives in Myanmar, contacts Yan after Yan hasn’t seen or heard from her sister in about 17 years.
Yan’s older sister soon arrives in Beijing. The two sisters have a tense reunion because of something that the sisters know about their past that could cause a scandal. Yan’s sister, who is seven months pregnant, has a reason for this sudden reappearance. Her husband Liang (played by Dong Baoshi), a jade mine businessman, is heavily in gambling debt and is being threatened by gangsters.
What follows is an escalating drama that involves blackmail, kidnapping and family secrets. Yan also experiences sexual harassment from a producer named Mr. Yu (played by Zhang Fan), who has a lot of influence over her career. “The Unseen Sister” has a few twists and turns but it’s not a completely surprising movie. It’s a solid thriller with serviceable acting in a story that’s enough to keep most viewers curious about how the story will end.
CMC Pictures released “The Unseen Sister” in select U.S. cinemas on November 8, 2024. The movie was released in China on October 26, 2024.