Summary
Lulu Wang’s second feature is funny, charming, heartbreaking, and genuine, with a terrific performance from Awkwafina. This will be on a lot of “best of” lists this year.
The story goes that writer/director Lulu Wang was interning for a producer alongside Bernadette Bürgi when a fateful trip to IKEA launched their own filmmaking ventures. The premise of THE FAREWELL, Wang’s second feature as director, comes from an equally personal place.
Billi (Awkwafina) is an aspiring writer living in New York. Her weekly chats with her grandmother Nai Nai (Zhao Shuzhen) keep her connected to her family’s Chinese heritage. Yet when the grand matriarch is diagnosed with cancer, the geographically estranged family gathers together in China under the pretence of a wedding to say goodbye. The only problem is that nobody wants to tell Nai Nai.
Wang’s proxy of Billi is caught between worlds, and yet the success of the film so far is indicative that there’s something universal about it’s themes. At it’s heart, it’s a film about a daughter, a mother, and a grandmother filtered through the lens of the Chinese-American experience. More than this, the family collective respresents the Chinese diaspora, with Nai Nai’s descendants living in the US, Japan and elsewhere.
For non-Chinese audiences, the strangeness of not revealing a grandmother’s illness to her is acknowledged through Awkwafina’s Billi. The multi-talented performer may be known largely for her hip-hop and comedy career, but here she shows off her drama chops as well. Playing largely off the the veteran Hong Kong-American actor Tzi Ma, and an authentic supporting cast that includes Wang’s actual relative, Awkwafina slides seemingly effortlessly into the role because Wang’s experience has been largely reported to be Awkwafina’s experience.
Wang and cinematographer Anna Franquesa Solano (Buck Run) visually contrast the two worlds as well. After kicking off with a brief section in New York, the stark alienness of the brutalist Chinese architecture dominates the landscape (and mirrored when Billi eventually leaves the country). It is softened as Billi becomes more accustomed to her heritage, with a terrific use of neon alleys and soft lighting.
“Much of the movie is in Chinese,” Wang told Vox in an interview, “but it’s 100 percent not a Chinese movie.” She’s absolutely right, and this is not a film that would necessarily fly in the Chinese mainstream, particularly given its slightly revealing portrayal of the family unit. Even if you know how this all turns out, especially given Wang has been open about her real life experiences, this is one of those rare stories that gets you in the feels without having to aim for them.
2019 | US | DIRECTOR: Lulu Wang | WRITERS: Lulu Wang| CAST: Awkwafina, Tzi Ma, Diana Lin, Zhao Shuzhen, Lu Hong, Jiang Yongbo | DISTRIBUTOR: Roadshow Films (AUS) | RUNNING TIME: 98 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 5 September 2019 (AUS)
