The rapid growth of Beijing into a modern economic powerhouse sets the backdrop for the black comedy “Lost in Beijing.” While the city goes through its expansive growth, multitudes of problems arise, none more so apparent than the gap between the haves and have nots.

Lin Dong is part of the nouveau-riche. He drives a Mercedes, wears a Rolex and owns the Gold Basin Foot Massage Palace. One of his more sought after employees is Ping Guo. She’s an immigrant that moved to Beijing with her husband An Kun to make a new life for themselves. They rent a small dilapidated apartment, while Ping Guo works as a masseuse and her husband works as window washer. Then one day, the two worlds collide when Lin Dong walks into a room to finds a drunken Ping Guo passed out on a couch. Lin Dong rather clumsily attempts to rape Ping Guo. That is until Ping Guo looks out the window and sees her husband, An Kun looking in the room.

An Kun then tries to exploit the situation by asking for $20,000 from Lin Dong. Lin Dong has none of it and throws him out. Ping Guo then becomes pregnant and things turn far more dramatic. Ling Dong’s wife, Mei Wei, happens to be barren and unable to have children. Lin Dong offers to pay An Kun $100,000 and adopt the child, if the child turns out to be his.

When “Lost in Beijing” began its film festival appearances earlier this year, the movie faced the scorn of Chinese censors. Although the sex scenes in “Lost in Beijing” were mild by Western standards, the Chinese censors demanded that 10 minutes of the film be excised. Eventually the filmmakers won over the censors and the movie was shown in its original state. This is obviously a good thing as the sex scenes were integral to the story itself. What probably raised the ire of the censors more than the sex scenes were the harsh vantage points given to the city of itself. Corruption, poverty, and pollution were all shown in various forms - with the city’s smog being tangible from the film.

The film’s strength lies squarely with its impressive cast. Bingbing Fan, Elaine Jin, Tony Leung Ka Fai, and Dawei Tong all gave spot-on performances, able to turn on a dime from absurdist moments to bleaker passages. Even the rape scene stood out for the odd moment when Tony Leung Ka Fai’s Ling Dong confronted Dawei Tong’s An Kun through a window high above the city.

The script was solid as well, but not without blemishes. The sudden re-appearance in the second half of Xiao Mei (Meihuizi Zeng) felt jarring and quite frankly, unneeded. The transformation of the main characters in the second half were also done in a way where it was difficult to understand why they felt the way they did. In particular Ping Guo’s shift in allegiance lacked clarity. Was it for love, money or maternal instincts?

Having traveled to China this past summer, what was shown in “Lost in Beijing” felt authentic and representative of the things I saw there. The city has an explosive dichotomy of rich and poor, urban and rural, young and old, and Maoist understandings surrounded by materialistic icons like Mercedes Benzs, Louis Vuitton bags and Rolex watches. If you want a glimpse of that then you should watch “Lost in Beijing”. A solid story is there and some very impressive performances as well.