Year of Release: 2019
Director: Lulu Wang
Starring: Awkwafina, Tzi Ma, Diana Lin, Shuzhen Zhao, Xiang Li, Aoi Mizuhara, Yongbo Jiang
Genre: Drama
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 7
Watch it on Amazon
Synopsis and Review:
Director Lulu Wang has followed her debut, "Posthumous", with the critically acclaimed "The Farewell" which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival of 2019 to great acclaim. The film follows the story of Billi, a young woman living in New York, whose family is originally from China. Billi stays in touch with her grandmother in China, and much to her consternation and sadness, is informed by her parents that her "Nai Nai" is actually suffering from lung cancer, and only has a few months left to live (at least, according to her doctors). Wanting to avoid causing her distress, the family collectively decides not to tell Nai Nai about her health situation. Instead, they make up a quickly arranged marriage, one to be celebrated between Billi's cousin, and a girl he recently met in Japan. The wedding arrangement and celebration, will allow all of them to spend time with the matriarch of the family, and in a way allow for a heartfelt goodbye. Billi, currently going through some professional challenges, disagrees with the idea, and wants to tell her grandmother everything, but upon visiting with her and simultaneously remembering what was her life in China, starts questioning not only her choices, but also her future.
"The Farewell" is a well observed film, one that reminds me of the early films from director Ang Lee (namely, "The Wedding Banquet" and "Eat, Drink, Man, Woman"). Much like Lee's films, Lulu Wang's is an emotionally charged, mordant and incisive well observed narrative, of what family means in Asian households. It's also a pertinent observation and reflection on how people/families moving away, distancing themselves geographically, removes the physical closeness but not the emotional bonds (and dynamics). "The Farewell" in particular is well constructed, since it allows in few scenes, to understand the relationships between the lead characters, namely from Billi with her parents, but also with her Nai Nai. It's a film filled with joy, sadness, sorrow, but also with the realization that love exists and persists beyond the physical presence of individuals. The cast is uniformly strong, with Shuzhen Zhao and Awkwafina creating two unique women, bonded by family, love and intimacy. A very well observed film, worth watching.
"The Farewell" is a well observed film, one that reminds me of the early films from director Ang Lee (namely, "The Wedding Banquet" and "Eat, Drink, Man, Woman"). Much like Lee's films, Lulu Wang's is an emotionally charged, mordant and incisive well observed narrative, of what family means in Asian households. It's also a pertinent observation and reflection on how people/families moving away, distancing themselves geographically, removes the physical closeness but not the emotional bonds (and dynamics). "The Farewell" in particular is well constructed, since it allows in few scenes, to understand the relationships between the lead characters, namely from Billi with her parents, but also with her Nai Nai. It's a film filled with joy, sadness, sorrow, but also with the realization that love exists and persists beyond the physical presence of individuals. The cast is uniformly strong, with Shuzhen Zhao and Awkwafina creating two unique women, bonded by family, love and intimacy. A very well observed film, worth watching.
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