Long, a cook in Warsaw has multiple personal challenges. He is an immigrant from Vietnam, a visible minority adjusting to western culture. He Polish wife is deceased, and he has a 10-year-old daughter Maja who is worried he may too soon move on from her mother, and wants to be more westernized, like her friends. He seems wedded to the restaurant where he lovingly makes pho.
But times are changing. His boss sells the restaurant and moves back to Vietnam. The new owner upscales it to Sushi and Thai, and Long has to learn new skills, delegating the final assembly of pho to an assistant. Back at home, Maja is spying on a women across the street, and Long has to break the ancient washing machine and has a hard time getting a replacement part.
I saw this at the online Toronto Reel Asian Film Festival, which was a help. I caught the Q+A with the writer / director, and could re-view parts of the film both before and after the Q+A. I wasn't dreaming, but the woman's picture in the shrine was a blonde Pole. There are certain ritual scenes that are repeated, but may only show the hands (e.g. adding incense to his wife's shrine, ironing his daughter's dress) or just an object (the washing machine) - all of which was the director's choice of focus. The director also likes to shoot down at feet / footwear, in cases implying the character from the shoes. Long also replaces the washing machine (not obvious at 1st glance, since both are front loaders, but obvious once I looked at the controls at the top).
This is a good portrait of someone in a diaspora, not really able to "go home" (likely not permanently with a mixed-raced daughter), and adapting as well as possible to his life choice. There are some parts of the story I find questionable, but find this is a film I recommend.
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