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From the director of the critically acclaimed The Peking Duck Academy, this is a film about Chinese people who have been damaged by the unavoidable circumstances of their history. The narrative takes place at the onset of the Cultural Revolution, when an ex-prostitute and her loving husband, humble tricycle driver Dezi, move to a Siheyuan residence. The neighbors are very curious about this odd couple, especially when Dezi puts his dolled-up wife on the tricycle and drives her around every Sunday afternoon as if she is a customer. The initial curiosity and admiration soon turns to envy and hatred, particularly when, in a moment of weakness, the woman reveals the secret of her past. Subjected to humiliation and insult, she loses her confidence in her ability to survive as an ordinary woman. Her husband, who is faced with social pressures, deserts her. She eventually departs the cruel world like a grain of dust floating in the wind. Unwelcome Lady was invited to several international film festivals and nominated for an Oscar as Best Foreign Film, but it was banned in China. It was screened at the 4th International Film Festival of Kerala, 1999.