Our Neighbor revolves around a little orphaned girl living in an impoverished community of mainland Chinese immigrants to Taiwan. However, theirs is a romanticized poverty-less a depiction of the actual living conditions of this population than a vehicle for the film's statement: be good, and work hard together for a better future. Set around the time of the Korean war, when refugees from mainland China were still coming to Taiwan and a million had already arrived, Our Neighbor addresses this audience of Chinese torn from their homes and kin. The community is presented as one big family, a portrayal underscored by the characters addressing each other as "Uncle," "Sister," etc. Significantly, only the gangster, the prostitute, and one "Sister" are native Taiwanese. Director Hsing Lee, himself a mainland immigrant, here exemplifies a strain of Chinese cinema that emphasizes the didactic potential of films that, however eloquent, are generally whole-hearted endorsements of orthodox values.