Apart, Together is a beautifully crafted story of the inexhaustible love of a mother for their child, which knows no boundaries of time or distance. The performances will leave you devastated, particularly Leann Lei as Jia, a mother who had to surrender a daughter under China’s “one child policy.”
Years later, she and her other daughter Yiru (Shavvon Lin) have journeyed to the US to try to reunite with this lost piece of Jia’s heart. If you aren’t moved by the longing in Jia’s eyes as she carefully practices her prepared speech in anticipation of finding her girl, you need to check your pulse. Lin is also heartrending as the other child who has grown up in the shadow of the mysterious first born who was given up.
Together the two women are tenderly convincing as a family fractured by loss and struggling to find closure. Apart, Together is more emotionally powerful in its short runtime than many full length feature films and director Olivia Hang Zhou is one to watch for her future projects.