Montreal, Ma Belle Review: Joan Chen Delivers a Career-Defining Performance

Director: Xiaodan He

Cast: Joan Chen, Charlotte Aubin, John Xu, Pei Yao Xu, Anzhe (Angelo) Zhang, Jean-Guy Bouchard, Isabelle Miquelon, Zion-Luna Ribeaux Valdès, Annette Garant, Éloi Archambaudoin, Wensi Yan, Pantelis Palioudakis and Amélie Pelletier 

My Rating: 8.4/10

The Verdict

Montreal, Ma Belle manages to be both culturally specific and universally moving. I believe it is the best lesbian romance we’ve seen in years, finally moving past the "trauma" tropes for something rooted in hope.

The Full Review: A New Language of Love

While many queer films have started to feel like they’re checking boxes. Montreal, Ma Belle doesn't do that.

It is a slow, tactile, and deeply cinematic experience that uses the freezing landscape of Quebec to highlight the warmth of a late-in-life sexual awakening.

The Plot: An Immigrant’s Heart

Ying (Joan Chen) is a mother who has spent decades repressing her own desires to provide a "stable" life for her family in Canada, and when she meets Feng Xia (Charlotte Aubin), a younger, fiercely independent artist, her world begins to crack open, and you will notice that the film treats their age gap not as a hurdle, but as a bridge between two different eras of queer identity.

Any conflict here doesn't come from a "villain," but from the internal struggle of reconciling one’s heritage with one's heart, where you feel the tension in the all of the quiet moments, and it carries that exact "aching longing" I loved in On Swift Horses, but with a much more mature, grounded execution this time around.

Performance Analysis: The Power of Joan Chen

Joan Chen is fantastic, where she uses the smallest shifts in her expression to communicate a lifetime of "holding it in."

When she finally allows herself to be seen by Feng Xia, the impact is seismic, and in my view, this is a 10/10 performance that should dominate the awards conversation.

Charlotte Aubin is the perfect foil though, with a spark the film needs to stay contemporary, and while she is younger and more "out," the film doesn't make her a teacher, instead, they are learning a new language together - one that isn't Chinese or French, but purely romantic.

The Blue and the Gold

The color theory in this film is brilliant, where the "outside" world of Montreal is shot in cold, harsh blues and greys, but the "inside" world - the apartments, the studios, the intimate spaces shared by Ying and Feng Xia - is drenched in warm, golden ambers.

I found this visual language to be incredibly effective in communicating the sanctuary they’ve built for each other.

The sound design features a mix of traditional Chinese instrumentation and modern Quebecois indie-pop, as a metaphor for Ying’s dual identity, and I think that the soundtrack will be a major "shazam" hit for audiences this spring.

Who is this film NOT for?

If you are looking for a fast-paced rom-com or a "coming out" drama with big shouting matches, you will be disappointed, as this is a quiet film, and it is for the people who want to sit with a character’s interiority.

Montreal, Ma Belle Ending Explained: The Choice

• The Family Secret: Ying finally tells her daughter about Feng Xia, where the daughter's silence is not a judgment, but as a realization that she never truly knew her mother.

• The Airport Scene: In a subversion of the "run to the airport" trope, Ying doesn't leave, as she chooses to stay in Montreal, but on her own terms.

• The Metaphor: The ending suggests that you don't have to choose between your culture and your queerness, as you can build a "Ma Belle" (My Beautiful) life in the middle of both.

Montreal, Ma Belle FAQ

Is this Joan Chen’s first queer role? 

No, but it is her first time playing a lead in a contemporary lesbian romance of this scale, and she has spoken in interviews about how personal this project felt to her.

Is it in English? 

The film is trilingual - English, French, and Mandarin, and the transitions between languages felt incredibly natural for a Montreal setting.

Where can I watch it? 

As of February, 2026, it is in select theaters in Canada and the US, but MUBI has reportedly acquired the streaming rights for a late 2026 release.

How does it compare to Past Lives?

I believe it’s the "queer sister" to Past Lives, as it has that same "what if" energy but focuses on the "what is" of a new, blooming love.

Also read my Heated Rivalry Review, On Swift Horses Review, Challengers Review, and The Moment Review.