Lee’s award-winning thesis film for NYU parallels a young man running from the Mafia and a young woman hiding from the INS, and its blend of the comic and the melodramatic sets the tone for the first feature films to follow. The title refers to Manhattan’s Canal Street, which separates Chinatown from Little Italy.

Patrick Cupo
as Mario

Ching Ming Liu
as Hsiu Hsiu

Ira Katz
as Drug Dealer

Chazz Palminteri
as Angelo

Mei-Hwa Chaa
as