★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Looking for a light, breezy film to watch this past weekend while we slept Sunday away, we turned to Lulu Wang’s 2019 directorial debut The Farewell. Starring Nora Lum (aka Awkwafina) as protagonist Billi, the story follows her family’s decision to not inform Nai Nai (Shuzhen Zhao), her grandmother and the family matriarch, that Nai Nai is dying of lung cancer and has mere months to live. It’s better this way, they tell a shocked Billi. They will carry this emotional burden for her in her.
Image via BigPictureFilmClub
Billi spends the film grappling with her dual identities as Chinese and American, the former of which was ripped from her at a young age when her parents moved her across the ocean and away from the only family she’d ever known. While the subject matter is heavy, the film is less about the fear of impending death and instead is series of photographs soon to be designated to the family photo album. The scenes feel like snapshots in Billi’s life as she eventually comes to accept the choices she doesn’t agree with and focuses on loving her grandmother during the time they have left rather than dreading the inevitable.
Image via IndieWire
Nai Nai and Billi have heartwarming chemistry that makes it hard to believe they aren’t actually family in real life. The scenes with them don’t always move the plot forward in a groundbreaking way but they do give the audience a glimpse into the sweet dynamic of two people who have loved each other for a long time despite being physically separated for decades. When Billi and her parents drive off and she watches Nai Nai through the car window, the pain of knowing this is likely the last time they will ever see each other floods your heart in a millisecond. It’s these moments of extreme, sudden emotion that Lulu Wang handles especially well — likely because this story stems from her own life and family.
If you’re looking for a charming, slightly sad, and ultimately optimistic movie to occupy a cold afternoon, The Farewell couldn’t be more perfect.