The 5th film of Ying Ning, who has persistently criticized Chinese society in her Beijing Trilogy which includes / Love Beijing presented at PIFF 2003, Perpetual Motion is a poignant criticism of past Chinese society from the perspective of a woman who claims her own self-identity, which is a daring and rare challenge in Chinese films. Niuniu happens to read a flirtatious email to her husband which seems to be sent from one of her friends. She invites three of her best friends to her home for a celebration of a traditional holiday, intending to find out the identity of the sender. As they spend the day together, the film focuses on the women′s conversations and relationships rather than Niuniu′s investigation of the deceiver. They boldly express their sexual desires, and confess the past they had to get over and how they were hurt by their conservative fathers and passive mothers. Except for the famous actress Li Qinqin in the role of Qinqin, the other three actresses are Chinese celebrities from powerful politicians′ families. Their own accounts of their real past lives make the film more realistic. A daring and monumental women′s film that uniquely reveals the psychology of contemporary Chinese women through dark humor. (Michelle Sohn)