The Farewell (2019) - a movie review

Billi (plays by Awkwafina) is a Chinese-American living in New York. She grew up in China until she was 2 years old and then moved to the US, so both cultures pretty much coalesce and being part of her identity. But, when she knew the information about her Nai Nai (played by Zhao Shu-Zhen) dying of cancer, her beliefs and her identity are being challenged. In Chinese, there’s a saying quoted that “When people get cancer, they die. It's not the cancer that kills them; it's the fear.” The family wants to keep it a secret and Billi’s parent expect her not to tell Nai Nai and forbid her to come with them to China. The whole family finally plan a wedding for Billi’s cousin (who also lives outside China hence his detachedness from his Chinese identity) so they have a reason to come to China to visit Nai Nai.

This is a movie about grief and family that also presents the authentic cultural distinction between how the west and the east perceive ideas. I appreciate and admire how little explanation in the movie about the cultural aspect of the topic being served. Especially, I feel like if this movie does that, it wouldn’t be as decent as it is and it would feel more like a commentary rather than a good story that been told with a good story-telling. Lulu Wang does an amazing job of telling an honest and genuine story, by framing the setting of China that is unique and not exaggerating the landscape of the country that often depicted just for the sake of aesthetic and cinematic in the movies. Also, the decision on directing the spotlight onto Nai Nai character rather than focusing on Billy’s personal conflict just make the movie more heart-warming and beautiful by seeing how every individual in the family deal with their each personal conflict while facing the grief as a family. So good.