The Farewell

source: The Farewell

When a Chinese family finds out that the family's matriarch is dying of lung cancer, complications arise. In Chinese culture, there is a saying that when you get cancer, you die. This actually boils down to the belief that it's not the cancer that leads to the person's death, but rather the fear of dying. As such, the family orchestrates an elaborate ruse to get everyone together for a wedding, but in reality the gathering is for everyone to be able to say goodbye to the grandmother without actually letting her know the truth. It's a fascinating premise and based on a true story (or based on an actual lie, as the film puts it). Showing aspects of Chinese culture we rarely get to see, the film takes us on a journey to China as we see modern life and urban development. How accurate it really is, I can't attest to, and there are times that it feels like there should be more or that something is more complex and we're being given the fortune cookie version, so to speak. The film does steer clear of politics, so that is not a factor here. This is a beautiful film not just through visual aesthetics but also on a character level. We see how each character faces the impending death of the grandmother differently, such as the daughter-in-law being very matter of fact about it while her husband (the grandmother's son) is being torn up inside, all while the wise and experienced grandmother continues to dispense advice, oblivious to her diagnosis. It details the variety of relationships we can develop in our life as no two relationships are the same, but they all still love each other despite some distance between certain relatives. There's something that, despite the comedic premise (it's sort of a comedy that's not particularly funny), is very grounded and very real. I couldn't help but see some of my own relationships reflected on the screen. Beautiful, heartbreaking, and at the same time somewhat hopeful, "The Farewell" comes highly recommended.

First things first, as I don't fall in the target demographic for The Farewell, I'll acknowledge that I might not be the best source of information about it. Anyway, with that out of the way, I'd like to suggest to you that The Farewell was a bit slow and at times, it was unsatisfying. Anyway, this movie will appeal to some. That it didn't appeal to me is no great surprise.

I agree with most of the under '5' ratings here. Kinda boring in parts, couldn't get "into" the film with the family, poor cinematography, and blah acting from some. I an "ABC," American-born Chinese from San Francisco and would have like to recommend this film to my family but I can't. I suggest they see Joy Luck Club again.

I don't really know how I can describe the feeling I felt at the end of the movie. It is heartbreaking especially one of the later shots but you kind of feel like you need more resolution or more of an end. And I know films don't always need a clear cut beginning and end but I just felt like the characters didn't really grow or change. Like I felt we ended exactly where we started the film. Like nothing changed. One more negative thing was the tone seemed a bit all over the shop. Very sad scenes would play out and then it would drop the dramatic effect for comedy and it just didn't seem to flow very well into each other. And some sequences just seemed like they belonged in entirely different movies like The Hangover or something. It was kind of strange. I actually enjoyed this movie believe it or not. You could tell it was lovingly made and was so personal. Awkwafina was great and so was Shuzhen Zhao. The films was best when them two were sharing scenes together. They made you feel how much the characters cared for each other. The score was also quite haunting. It fit the sombreness of the movie. So I would say you could watch it but you need to be in the right mood as it can get pretty sad.

The Farewell is phenomenal and one of the best films of 2019. Awkwafina sheds her usual persona to take on this role and she is truly fantastic. The real standout here, however, is Shuzhen Zhao as Nai Nai. She's funny, down to Earth, and absolutely heartbreaking. It's a brilliant performance from a phenomenal older Chinese actress and I hope she's remembered come award season (same with Awkwafina). Lulu Wang has written an absolutely beautiful and personal film and has clearly poured her heart out into it. Her dialogue is funny, human, and poetic. Most of the film is in Mandarin, but don't worry. The translations have kept the jokes truly funny and the dramatic moments have retained their weight. It's a pretty bilingual film, so if subtitles worry you, don't worry. It's a great screenplay. I think this is an extremely accessible film that you can bring the whole family to and I hope it gets a wide release and does well. I can't recommend it enough. I hope it does well financially and gets award recognition. I like to see beautiful, small, personal projects do well and this is a truly great movie.

Stylish, ambitious, dealing with very important issues, quirky humor, very much reminding me of indie family comedies like The Funeral (1984) . However the quality of this film feels inconsistent and clunky. There are quite a few good acting moments though mostly tacky, the dialogues were too theatrical and over sentimental. (I'm really excited for Awkwafina! Can't wait to see her tackle some good dramedy roles!) I wish I had seen more "Billi and Nai nai do stuff together" and connecting like the exercise scene, and way less preaching & discussing. (a very good example it reminded me is The Way Home 2002). But my friends and I did cry and laugh and sung together at the end, and there are not nearly enough movies out there about grandparents, so thank you Lulu Wang!

There is one good four minute scene in the whole film. The family at a restaurant and tension among the two families regarding life in China and the US. The rest of the film is naval-gazing trash. It is surely important when your grandmother dies, but it is not a meaningful story in itself. There is no depth at all. The film is full of cliches. There is a lot of Chinese culture 101 for Americans. This film is probably loved by hipsters thinking they are edgy. Instead the film is totally conventional with nothing of value. And the advertised twist is that the woman did not have cancer at all. Wtf!

Billi Wang (Akwafina) is a young aspiring writer in New York whose family had immigrated from China when she was six years old. She maintains a happy telephone relationship with her paternal grandmother, Nai Nai (Zhao Shuzhen) who still lives in China in the city of Changchun. Billi's family has received news from another relative that Nai Nai is dying of lung cancer. The extended families travel to Changchun to celebrate the wedding of Billi's cousin although the collective intention is really to say goodbye to Nai Nai - while withholding the news from her that she is dying. Throughout the film - and especially by the end, it is very clear that is biographical and based on the experiences of the film's talented writer/director Lulu Wang. The story is rich for various reasons including its unique take on the universal theme of dealing with the impending death of a beloved elderly relative. Billi is also a stand-in for many "new world" North Americans who would find it terribly wrong to withhold from anyone the fact that they are dying. Her points are well expressed but so are the contradictory replies from her elders and those more in line with a Chinese cultural tradition of such secrecy. The reply to the question "who's right" is answered in Nai Nai's laid-back, content demeanour (when not coughing), totally oblivious to her diagnosis. This is one of the fascinating surprises of "The Farewell" in its acquiescence to old-world values in subtle ways. Here, Wang must be given credit for her humility. She seems to have nodded to a sarcastic quote attributed to Oscar Wilde: "I am not young enough to know everything". The main story is powerful enough; yet Wang adds to the wealth by delving into the immigration experience - for those who left their homeland as well as those left behind. Here again, she takes on a universal theme. In conversations and monologues, the viewer hears what it is like to lose all of one's children (two sons in this case) as they leave the homeland (Nai Nai's other son emigrated to Japan). Billi also has a powerful monologue of what it was like to leave behind an extended family and community when she was six. While intelligently avoiding platitudes, the film asks: is there really a 'better life' somewhere else? The fine cast does justice to Wang's eloquent story. Awkwafina fits well in the lead role and Zhao's Nai Nai is so loveable that she makes it very easy to see why so many would grieve her impending death. One particular scene stands out even though it is brief: Billi's mother (Diana Lin) quietly avoiding eye contact in a taxi while fighting back tears. In less than a minute, Lin conveys an experience of every adult at least once in our lives. - dbamateurcritic RATING: 9 out of 10 OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT: Screenplay by Lulu Wang

It still amazes me how a film could show a superficial understanding of foreign culture and immigration experience even when it was largely filmed in another country. The overuse of melodramatic score and mediocre cinematography at once appear cringey; it may also indicate that the director/writer lacks a good story to tell. Awkwafina, with her charisma, almost singlehandedly saved the film. The rest of it is filled with superficiality and insincerity, which even add up to kitsch. The story is not a complicated one, yet the script avoids almost every possible deep discussion by blaming the conflicts to "the differences between the East and the West." Linguistic inequality plays a role, but there are hardly ever any substantial dialogues between the family members, which renders the "Eastern family" idea advocated in the movie ridiculous. There are, in reality, so many things to talk, or at least to hint, about: Cultural Revolution the grandmother certainly went through, the Tiananmen Square protests that the parents possibly experienced, first-gen immigrant experience, identity confusion of Billi, just to name a few. Wasting lots of scenes on suburban China's "rituals," the film did a terrible job depicting both Asia and Asian-Americans. It then leads to the portrayal of the family members, which also fails. I can quickly name that the grandmother are the mother are authoritarian, the cousin introverted, etc. The Japanese woman is like an ornament to the Chinese family. What strikes me is the absence of male figures in Billi's family, which made me wonder how Billi still managed to become a wonderful person she is of today given her mother hardly listened. Even Billi, the only humane figure in the whole film (and she was raised in the US, which implies something), seems to be lacking internal struggle and social connection. As a whole, this family is atomized even when people gather together.