Lucky Grandma

A crafty Coen-esque black comedy about an elderly widow who inadvertently steals from the Chinese mob and subsequently takes on the gangs to secure her fortune.

Widowed Grandma Wong doesn’t seem so lucky when she gambles away her entire savings. But her fortunes appear to change when, on the bus home, the man sat beside her suddenly expires and she absconds with his bag stuffed with US dollar bills. However, the money belongs to New York’s Chinese mob and she now finds herself at the centre of a gang war. Still, never underestimate an unflappable pensioner. First-time writer-director Sasie Sealy’s spiky US indie explores Chinatown’s Mahjong parlours and steam rooms with an authenticity American movies often lack. Veteran actress Tsai Chin (The Joy Luck Club) has a blast as our wily, chain-smoking, Mandarin-speaking heroine, who forms a terrific odd-couple partnership with affable giant bodyguard Big Pong (Hsiao-yuan Ha).