He has lived there alone for three years, saving to find an apartment for his wife and daughter to join him. On the day they are due to arrive, his e-bike is stolen and his building superintendent kicks him out. Lu must race to secure the life of the American Dream he’s imagined for his family.

Lucky Lu begins as an angst-inducing pressure cooker of a film, following our protagonist as he races from job to job, navigating the grey labyrinth of traffic and dingey takeaways with the ever present ‘ding’ of his delivery app guiding his every move. When his bike is taken, the precarious building blocks of his life begin to fall, exposing the Sisyphean nature of the migrant experience in an uncaring and uncompromising society. When his daughter arrives, and we see Lu’s corner of New York through her eyes, the pulse dips and we see and feel the true toll that Lu’s running and hustling has had.

Anchored by a volatile yet sensitive performance from Chang Chen, this is an essential film for our moment.