The lives of three generations of Asian immigrants play out across three different cities: in Paris, a young man returns to his girlfriend as family trouble brews back home in the United States; in Bangkok, a young couple prepares for their move to the U.S.; and in Los Angeles, a woman marries into the family of a Japanese widower.

Three cities, three couples, three intriguing visions of love and our struggle to communicate in the contemporary world — Rooth Tang's feature debut Sway is a globe-spanning narrative latticework that places private experience on the same scale as broadcast news.

Sumptuously photographed on 16mm (which Tang brilliantly uses to bring out the rich hues unique to each of his locations), Sway is alluringly fluid, its discrete elements flowing together into a single, powerful current. A knowing glance following an embarrassing faux pas; a dinner date turned sour by tensions too heated to be addressed; a spell of post-coital reverie — Tang, who has extensive prior experience as an editor, weaves these small moments into a seamless, majestic tapestry, creating a film of uncommon emotional richness that will not soon be forgotten.