Processing the inevitability of a loved one's death can often be more difficult than the grief itself and no truth is as evident as this in Lulu Wang's exceptional movie The Farewell. Based on a true story and an 'actual lie,' this film is full of every element that makes a familial drama so engaging: interweaving character studies, sweet, naive grandparents, and plenty of food. As tense as it is inconspicuously funny, this story plays out in the exact environment that one would expect. The warm and inviting atmosphere created in this film comes naturally to all people, also due in part to the familiar chemistry between the rising Awkwafina and Shuzhen Zhao. In addition to the phenomenal cast, Wang has truly succeeded in telling a tender story, flawlessly combining her own experience of the cultural particularities of Chinese people with nearly ubiquitous themes about family and loss.
Billi (Awkwafina) is a college graduate who moved to New York from China as a child with her mother Jian (Diana Lin) and father Haiyan (Tzi Ma). Keeping in constant communication with her grandmother Nai Nai (Shuzhen Zhao), Billi wishes that she could spend more time with her in China and gets the chance to when her parents inform her that her grandmother is dying. Although Billi wants to break the news to Nai Nai more than anything, her Chinese family decides to withhold information of Nai Nai's illness until they believe the time is right. Lulu Wang's script and direction are paired together very nicely to create the story of this painfully relatable family. The divisive relationships between everyone in this film who are not sure how or when to let Nai Nai know of her condition make for the most interesting dynamics. The family members throughout this film behave in such honest ways that it can often appear as if you are watching your own family reunion play out. Wang's script does such an exquisite job at squeezing raw emotion out of every shot, as it is also very carefully executed by Anna Franquesa Solano's cinematography. It is clear that every aspect of this production is utterly representative of Wang's story as we get a glimpse into how surprisingly similar families from all around the world can operate.
READ THE FULL REVIEW ON CINECCENTRIC
My Rating: ★★★★½
No comments:
Post a Comment