Is it possible for a woman to be independent in today’s China? This is the question posed by the director Emily Tang in Perfect Life. Emily Tang searches for the answer through a mixture of documentary and fiction. Yueying Li dreams of being independent. Abandoned by her father, Yueying Li has a troublemaking brother and a mother who is indifferent towards her family. Working as a factory worker and hotel maid, she meets a man only to be left alone again when he dies. On the other hand, Jenny, who moved from mainland China to Hong Kong, is bringing up her daughter amidst an ongoing messy divorce. She keeps moving between several jobs to make a living. Emily Tang switches between Jenny and Yueying Li’s lives, suggesting that Jenny’s present life is Li Yueying’s future. Her selection of backgrounds is interesting, as Shenzhen and Hong Kong are dream places for Chinese job seekers. Two cities take similar paths like mirror images, just like the lives of Jenny and Yueying Li. (KIM Ji-Seok)