Three women from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and mainland China forge unexpected bonds after immigrating to New York City. Wang Hsiung-ping (from Taiwan) is an aspiring actress struggling for recognition; Lee Fung-jiau (from Hong Kong) runs a restaurant and property business while concealing her sexuality; Zhao Hong (from the mainland) enters an arranged marriage and yearns to bring her mother over, facing cultural and emotional divides. As they navigate isolation, cultural prejudice, and personal disappointments, the three meet over meals, late-night confidences, and shared longing for connection. Amid the vastness of the city, their friendship becomes a quiet refuge, sustaining hope in the face of displacement.

An award-winning work by Hong Kong New Wave auteur Stanley Kwan, Full Moon in New York extends his abiding interest in portraying women and their interior lives to the wintry streets of New York. Interwoven with Cantonese, Mandarin, and English, the film captures the fractured, hybrid language of diasporic existence. It resonates both as a snapshot of Chinese migration in the late twentieth century and as a universal story of longing for connection across borders. The film earned eight Golden Horse Awards in 1989, including Best Feature Film, Best Leading Actress (Maggie Cheung), and Best Original Screenplay.